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The  World’s  Social  Evil 

A Historical  Review  and  Study  of 
the  Problems  Relating  to  the  Subject 


BY 


WILLIAM  BURGESS 

Author  of  “The  Bible  in  Shakspeare,”  “The  Religion  of  Ruskin,” 
“Land.  Labor  and  Liquor,”  etc. 


Foreword  by 

DR.  GRAHAM  TAYLOR 


With  Supplementary  Chapter  on 

A Constructive  Policy 

BY 

JUDGE  HARRY  OLSON 

Chief  Justice,  Municipal  Court,  Chicago 


and  Other 

IMPORTANT  APPENDICES 


Saul  Brothers,  Publishers 
Chicago 


Copyright,  1914 
By  Saul  Brothers,  Chicago 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

PoEEWOED — Graham  Taylor. 

Preface— Definitions — Liberty — License  5 

Chap.  I.  The  Ancient  Evil — 

Regulation  Systems  of  the  World 13 

Chap.  II.  The  White  Slave  Traffic — 

Definition  — European  Sources  — Its 
Spread  to  American — The  Slave  Mar- 
kets in  American  Cities _^4'9 

Chap.  III.  The  English  Contagions  Diseases  Acts — • 
Their  Avowed  Object — How  They  Were 
Passed — The  Popular  Uprising  Against 
Them — their  Repeal 81 

Chap.  IV.  Weighed  in  the  Balance — 

Hygiene  and  Police  Rule  in  Europe — 
Venereal  Diseases- — The  Brussels  Confer- 
ences   117 

Chap.  V.  The  Wrongs  of  the  Legalized  System — 

The  Magna  Cl^rta — Repulsive  Measures.  141 

Chap.  VI.  Extortion  and  Graft — 

New  York  Examples — Tammany  Gets  Mil- 
lions— Plundering  and  Graft — San  Fran- 
cisco Scandal — Blackmail 151 

Chap.  VII.  The  Great  Black  Plague — 

(a)  The  Venereal  Peril  in  America. 

(b)  The  Menace  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

(c)  Can  the  Plague  Be  Stayed?.  ^ . .159 

Chap.  VIII.  The  Economic  Question — 

1.  Cost  of  the  Social  Evil.  ■ — -- 

2.  Poverty  as  a Menace — Low  Wages—  j 

Money  Value  of  Life— Financial 
Losses  by  Disease — -Los.s  of  Seryice — ■ 1 

Summary  of  Losses — Bedford  Hill  j 
Reformatory 199 

339539  ..J 


Chap.  IX.  American  Awakening — , 

Geneva  Congress — Silence  Broken — A 
Decade  of  Interest — Chicago  Aroused — 
New  York  Moves — Rockefeller  Grand 
J ury — International  Treaty — Pandering 
Laws — The  Mann  Act — Injunction  Laws 
in  Twelve  States — Recall  at  Seattle — 
Police  Women  — Vice  Commissions  — 
— Sunday  School  Interest — National  Or- 


ganization   231 

Chap.  X.  The  European  Eevolt — 

A Voice  and  a Vision — Continental  Con- 
ference   275 


Chap.  XL  Commerce  and  Conscience — 

Property  Owners  and  Real  Estate  Deal- 
ers and  Vice — Brewers  and  Saloonkeep- 
ers— Moral  Delinquency  of  the  Business 
— Letters  from  Paris  Women- — American 
Business  Men  Plead  for  a red-Light  Dis- 
trict   285 

Chap.  XII.  Tlie  War  and  Its  Weapons — 

Civilization’s  Greatest  Task— Morals  the 
Supreme  Appeal — Remedies,  Rescue — 
Prevention — Marriage  and  Divorce — The 


Church’s  Responsibility  — The  Jews 
Awakened — Christ  and  Woman 301 


APPENDICES. 


1.  “A  Constructive  Policy.” — Judge  Olson 355 

2.  “Prostitution  in  Europe.” — A Review 369 

3.  Recent  Appendix  to  Sanger’s  IJistory  of  Prostitution — 

A Criticism  383 

4.  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law 387 

5.  Pandering  Act  391 

6.  Chart  of  Prostitution  Laws 392 

7.  White  Slave  Traffic  Act 394 

8.  Regulation  of  Immigration  Law 398 

9.  Bulletin  of  Georgia  Campaign 400 


Foreword 


By  GRAHAM  TAYLOR 

This  book  was  prompted  not  only  by  the  appeal  made 
to  a scholarly  mind  by  the  widely  scattered  data  of  the 
long  war  against  vice,  but  also  by  personal  experience 
on  the  field  of  action  where  the  author  has  aided  achievement 
in  securing  organized  effort.  So  rapidly  and  widely  has  the 
struggle  against  the  social  evil  spread  that  the  local  and  national 
groups  engaged  in  it  are  for  the  most  part  unaware  of  what  a 
diverse  world-wide  movement  they  constitute.  Each  several 
line  of  aggressive  effort  has  its  own  organization  and  publica- 
tions, covering  the  medical  and  psychopathic,  the  legislative  and 
police,  the  educational  and  protective,  the  moral  and  religious 
attacks  upon  the  hydra-headed  evil. 

There  are  many  historical  reviews,  technical  treatises  and 
ofiicial  reports  on  various  phases  of  the  vice  and  the  movements 
against  it,  but  they  are  little  known  and  less  read  by  those 
actively  engaged  or  being  enlisted  in  the  struggle.  To  do  their 
best  in  the  intensive  effort  to  meet  concrete  situations  on  local 
fields  which  absorbs  them,  they  need  to  have  their  view  ex- 
tended to  the  whole  field  of  conflict,  in  order  to  realize  the 
forces  and  resources  involved  on  both  sides.  This  volume  meets 
the  practical  need  of  the  rank  and  file  for  definition  and  dis- 
crimination, for  retrospect  and  prospect,  for  surveys  of  situa- 
tions and  summaries  of  results,  for  literature  and  laws,  for 
critical  estimates  of  methods  and  inspirational  suggestion.  It 
does  so  in  a way  sufficiently  authentic  to  be  of  reference  value, 
and  yet  is  so  untechnically  practical  as  to  be  immediately  help- 
ful to  all  on  the  firing  lines  of  this  “war  without  discharge.” 

Few  are  so  well  read  as  not  to  need  to  be  informed  or  re- 
minded of  what  these  chapters  record  of  the  history  of  regula- 


tion  and  of  the  English  contagious  diseases  acts.  Fewer  still 
can  be  so  well  informed  of  current  movements  as  to  be  familiar 
with  the  history  in  the  making,  the  contemporary  progress  of 
which  is  narrated  in  the  stories  of  the  American  Awakening 
and  the  European  Revolt.  Laymen  at  least  will  profit  by  the 
review  of  the  pathology  and  therapeutics  of  the  problem  here 
diagnosed.  None  can  be  so  practical  as  not  to  be  impressed  with 
the  economic  phases  of  the  situation  here  presented,  not  only 
in  facts  and  figures,  but  in  terms  of  human  want  and  woe. 
No  honest  doubt  or  heedless  cynicism  can  be  impervious  to  the 
author’s  fearless  facing  of  facts  and  his  sturdy  faith  and  reso- 
lute hope,  based  as  they  are  upon  his  first-hand  contact  with 
the  worst  and  his  experience  in  personal  and  united  effort  to 
do  the  best. 

In  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  age-long  confiict,  the  set  of  the 
tide  is  here  shown  to  be  toward  the  flood.  Against  all  odds,  the 
failure  and  doom  of  segregated,  commercialized,  police-protected 
vice  is  writ  large  not  only  in  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  in 
many  nations,  but  also  on  the  statute  books  and  ordinances  and 
in  administrative  regulations  of  a rapidly  increasing  number  of 
states  and  cities.  Still  more  hopeful  is  the  fact,  of  which  the 
publication  of  such  a book  as  this  is  proof  positive,  that  the 
silence  and  secrecy  under  which  the  social  vice  has  thriven,  both 
in  its  clandestine  and  public  forms,  are  at  last  being  penetrated 
by  the  light  of  authentic  facts  leading  to  a sane  educational 
method  in  social  hygiene.  In  the  home,  the  school  and  the 
church,  by  the  parent,  the  teacher  and  the  pastor,  the  preventive 
work,  the  precautionary  measures,  the  prepossessing  motives 
and  the  trained  reserves  will  be  mobilized  as  never  before.  The 
effects  of  this  rear  guard  work  cannot  fail  to  strengthen  pro- 
tective legislation  and  to  advance  aggressive  prosecution  along 
the  whole  line  of  attack. 

The  total  effect  of  the  cumulative  facts  and  force  of  this 
volume  is  to  dignify  the  war  against  vice  as  worthy  of  the 
world’s  united  effort  and  as  a chivalric  appeal  to  each  one’s 
knight  errantry. 


Preface 

I. 


“License  they  mean  when  they  cry  liberty.” — Milton 

“Whatsoever  a man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap.” — Paul. 

“It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  so  to  legislate  as  to  make 
it  easy  to  do  right  and  difficult  to  do  wrong.” — Gladstone. 

The  Social  Evil  may  be  broadly  divided  into  three  class- 
es: (1)  Licentiousness;  (2)  Prostitution;  (3)  Female  Slav- 
ery. 

That  there  is  a form  of  sex  licentiousness  which  lies  at 
the  root  of  all  social  evil  needs  no  strong  statement  or  argu- 
ment. It  is  what  Macaulay  calls  “sensuality  without  love. ” 
Unfortunately  it  prevails  in  almost  every  range  and  grade 
of  human  society.  The  chaste  and  modest  woman  cannot 
move  in  any  class  of  society  without  occasionally  being 
made  aware  of  words  and  deeds  that  raise  the  blush  of 
shame  to  her  face,  and  much  of  the  evil  of  prevailing  ig- 
norance on  sex  matters  arises  from  fear  lest  the  facts  of 
sex  life  should  reveal  indecencies  to  youth  and  innocence. 

The  ribald  song,  the  unseemly  jest,  the  story  with  double 
meaning,  the  vicious  novel,  the  gross  theatrical  show,  the 
indecent  picture  and  postcard,  the  newspaper  report  detail- 
ing divorce  court  proceedings,  the  purchase  of  women  in 
marriage  for  gold  or  titles,  the  deplorable  diseases,  the  ruin 
of  family  life,  the  indecencies,  often  of  children  in  public 
schools,  and,  worse  than  all,  the  revolting  unnatural,  secret 
practices  among  both  men  and  women — all  mark  the  fact 
that,  rooted  in  the  common  life  of  the  people,  is  a prevail- 
ing sex  licentiousness  that  calls  for  an  age  of  the  sternest 
stuff  of  mmnly  courage  and  womanly  purity. 

The  second  of  these  forms  of  the  social  evil  known  as 


6 


'the  World’s  Social  Evil 


prostitution  is  described  as  “the  offering  by  a woman  of 
her  body  to  indiscriminate  intercourse  with  men,  for  hire.” 
A “harlot”  is  described  as  “a  woman  who  prostitutes  her 
body  for  hire”  (see  Standard  Dictionary).  This  form  of 
barter  has  doubtless  existed  in  all  ages  of  civilization,  and 
in  all  countries  where  woman  has  been  free  to  make  a bar- 
gain for  herself.  Free  women  only  can  prostitute  them- 
selves. 

A striking  account  is  given  in  Genesis  38,  where  Tamar, 
who  was  a daughter-in-law  of  Judah,  made  a bargain  with 
her  father-in-law,  in  which  she  is  said  to  have  “played  the 
harlot,”  thus  indicating  that  the  practice  of  harlotry  by 
actual  selling  of  the  person  for  a consideration,  was  com- 
mon in  that  day ; and  the  description  of  a “ strange  woman, 
with  the  attire  of  a harlot,”  given  in  Proverbs  7,  is  a 
further  indication  that  fprostitution  continued  to  exist 
through  the  periods  of  the  Old  Testament  history;  and  the 
history  of  nations,  in  their  downfall,  shows  that  this  evil 
was  perpetuated  through  the  age^  This  form  of  the  social 
evil,  strictly  speaking,  involves  the  freedom  of  a woman  to 
make  a contract  for  a price.  But  conditions  frequently 
prevailed  in  various  ages  and  in  different  forms,  in  which 
this  commercial  transaction  was  associated  with  oppression 
and  slavery,  denying  the  indimdual  woman  any  control,  or 
bargain,  in  the  matter. 

In  negro  slavery  the  woman  who  was  compelled  to  serve 
her  master’s  lust,  was  not  a prostitute,  within  the  proper 
meaning  of  the  term.  She  may,  or  may  not,  have  been  un- 
chaste,— she  rarely  profited  by  it.  In  many  instances  she 
was  far  more  virtuous  than  the  man  who  enslaved  her,  and 
r.o  speak  of  her  as  a prostitute  would  be  an  error  in  fact. 

The  third  form  of  this  giant  evil  is  the  traffic  in  wom- 
anhood. This  is  Commercialism  reduced  to  its  lowest  stage 


Preface 


7 


of  conscienceless  brutality.  It  is  merchandise  in  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  women  and  girls,  which  has  grown  to  enor- 
mous proportions  in  every  civilized  country,  under  systems 
of  governmental  toleration  and  license,  until  it  is  regarded 
as  a commercial  right  and  a social  necessity. 


PREFACE. 

II. 

In  his  friendly  comment  upon  the  future  of  the. United 
States,  the  Hon.  James  Bryce  did  not  take  into  account 
the  most  serious  factors  which  affect,  for  evil,  the  life  of 
our  country.  He  pointed  out  that  “the  government  of  our 
cities  is  the  one  conspicuous  failure  of  the  United  States.” 
(^)  These  “jet  black  evils,”  Mr.  Bryce  thinks,  are  ac- 
counted for  in  the  organic  weakness  of  our  poUtieal  system, 
as  applied  to  municipal  government,  a consideration  which 
certainly  calls  for  the  thoughtful  minds  of  progressive 
statesmen  and  of  all  citizens. 

But  if  any  lover  of  his  country  reviews  the  black  cata- 
log of  evils  which  is  found  in  the  following  pages,  if  he 
will  observe  how  every  forward  step  towards  better  gov- 
ernment has  been  set  back  by  the  corruption  of  law — 
national,  state,  and  city — through  licentiousness  and  the 
graft  which  attends  it,  he  will  see  that  the  cause  of  our 
failure  lies  deeper  than  any  weakness  in  constructive  law. 

The  feverish  love  of  money  has  become  a national  sin, 
and  in  our  city  life  has  brought  forth  a harvest  of  crime. 
The  idols  we  worship  are  as  surely  debasing  and  corrupt- 
ing our  people  as  the  idols  of  the  heathen  debased  them. 


(')  The  American  Commonwealth. 


8 The  World’s  Social  Evil 

And  these,  our  idols — may  be  named  in  two  words — greed 
and  license. 

Greed: — We  have  made  money  a god  and  we  have  wor- 
shipped it,  until  the  public  conscience  tolerated  anything — 
however  vile  and  false,  which  involved  a vested  interest,  or 
a money  gain. 

Once  the  nation  went  to  war  against  this  sin.  It  poured 
out  the  blood  of  a million  men  upon  our  own  home  fields, 
to  redeem  the  nation  from  the  blot  of  slavery,  long  sus- 
tained in  the  name  of  “vested  interests.”  But  we  repudi- 
ated the  claim  at  a cost  of  uncounted  treasure  and  rivers 
of  human  blood.  Forgetting  this,  we  have  rushed  on  in 
a wild  chase  of  the  golden  god — giving  license  in  the 
name  of  freedom  to  every  form  of  social  evil,  until  we 
have  reached  the  depths  of  a slavery  incalculably  more 
vile  than  that  from  which  we  were  delivered  half  a century 
ago.  Moreover  we  have,  in  a large  degree,  consented  to  a 
national,  state  and  city  partnership,  or  have  permitted  our 
public  servants  and  officials  to  become  partners,  sharing 
the  spoils. 

The  corruption  of  governing  bodies,  and  of  officials, 
through  the  ballot  box  stuffed  by  criminals,  the  perversion 
of  justice  by  conspiracy  and  purchase,  the  official  control 
of  vice-revenue,  the  partnership  of  police  with  the  whisky 
ring,  the  gambling  trust  and  the  vice  market,  are  con- 
ditions which  exist  not  because  of  any  inherent  weakness 
of  our  political  system,  nor  for  the  lack  of  public  protest 
against  them. 

Not  for  lack  of  statesmen,  or  men  of  clear  brain,  nor 
because  we  have  no  men  who  are  true,  or  women  who  are 
pure ; not  for  lack  of  education  and  teachers  are  we  thus 
enslaved;  if  the  civilized  world  should  challenge  a com- 
parison of  men  and  women — great  in  talent  and  charac- 


Preface 


9 


ter — or  of  churches,  universities,  colleges,  schools,  libraries 
and  benevolent  institutions,  we  could  win  the  race  in  a 
canter. 

But  we  have  acquired  the  vices  of  the  ancient  world, 
and  have  given  to  these  vices  the  freedom  of  commerce 
and  the  license  of  consent. 

License: — This  is  our  national  substitute  for  liberty. 
We  glorify  liberty  while  we  dethrone  it.  We  substitute 
license  for  liberty.  “Liberty  to  wrong  is  the  mother  to 
bondage.”  We  are  fostering  all  the  children  of  this  mother. 

Destroying  liberty ! By  permitting  any  and  every  form 
of  evil  to  enter  into  competition  with  legitimate  commerce. 
Liberty  to  degrade  the  stage  and  corrupt  the  press, — lib- 
erty to  destroy  the  national  rest  day, — liberty  to  traffic  in 
gambling,  liquor  and  lust, — ^liberty  to  make  slaves  of  the 
daughters  of  the  poor  and  to  fatten  upon  their  polluted 
bodies, — liberty  of  politicians,  police  and  criminals — to  be- 
come partners  in  this  riot  and  plunder. 

Concession  of  liberty  to  do  wrong  is  part  of  our  un- 
written code.  Parentage  is  weakened  by  it.  The  father 
has  abdicated  from  his  rule  and  the  mother  has  forgotten 
how  to  enforce  obedience.  The  child  thirsts  after  the  “lib- 
erty” that  ignores  restraint.  The  girl  and  the  boy  seek 
the  freedom  of  lawlessness,  and  such  freedom  is  conceded 
in  the  majority  of  homes. 

It  is  the  sin  of  the  nation, — this  license — mis-called  lib- 
erty, the  wrong  which  fools  the  poor  immigrant  and  fills 
the  air  with  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  and  anarchy.  We 
must  learn  again  our  primary  lesson,  not  only  as  a school- 
book text,  but  as  a principle  of  our  social  being,  involving 
political  and  moral  health,  recognizing  that  no  man  is  free, 
and  no  nation  is  free,  which  departs  from  righteousness. 


10 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 

?|C  5^ 

The  change  in  public  sentiment  which  has  been  wrought 
during  the  past  forty  years,  and  especially  the  last  decade 
of  that  period,  is  not  confined  to  any  zone  or  country, 
but  is  a remarkable  fact,  observable  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  And  the  agencies  which  contributed  to 
this  change  are  so  numerous  and  varied  that  the  mere 
mention  of  them  would  not  be  possible  within  the  limits 
of  a volume  such  as  this.  Many  of  them  indeed  were 
only  a voice — sometimes  discordant  and  startling — but 
without  which  society  would,  probably,  not  yet  have  been 
awakened. 

Two  agencies  which  properly  belong  to  Chapter  IX 
were  overlooked  at  the  time  of  writing  and  ought  to  be 
mentioned,  viz:  the  “Chicago  Society  of  Social  Hygiene’’ 
and  the  “Spokane  Society  of  Social  and  Moral  Hygiene,’’ 
which  were  able  pioneers  in  the  “decade  of  interest’’ 
through  the  printed  page. 

Another  difficulty,  which  the  author  faced,  was  that 
new  facts  of  historic  value  developed  as  he  wTote,  so  that 
revision  of  the  record  was  several  times  made  necessary. 
After  Chapter  IX  was  completed  and  in  print,  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifteen  of  Chicago  made  public  certain  facts 
of  actual  achievement  so  striking  as  to  call  for  a note 
here.  Briefly  stated  they  are : 

(a)  The  practical  closing  of  the  red  light  districts 
and  many  other  houses  of  ill-fame  throughout  the  city. 

(b)  Kevocation  of  license  of  some  of  the  most  no- 
torious resorts  in  Chicago  and  dozens  of  others  less 
notorious. 

(c)  Reduction,  by  at  least  eighty  per  cent,  of  open 
street  solicitation. 

“Never  before,”  says  Superintendent  S.  P.  Thrasher,  “could 
it  be  said  truthfully  that  there  was  not  a house  of  prostitution 


Preface 


11 


in  Chicago  into  which  a stranger  could  go  without  strategy  of 
some  sort.  Of  course,”  remarks  Mr.  Thrasher,  “it  would  be 
the  height  of  folly  to  assume  that  commercialized  vice  has  been 
driven  from  our  city.  The  exploiters  and  the  prostitutes  havp 
been  driven  behind  political  and  financial  breastworks  and  are 
impatiently  waiting  for  what  they  believe  will  be  the  passing 
of  the  reform  wave.  If  I sense  the  public  conscience  of  Chi- 
cago aright,  there  will  be  no  such  passing,  but  eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  a clean  city. 

“It  would  be  idle  to  say  that  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  has 
directly  accomplished  all  this,  but  I have  no  hesitancy  in  say- 
ing that  the  conditions  which  were  revealed  by  the  report  of 
the  Vice  Commission  would  still  be  enriching  the  vice  exploit- 
ers and  corrupting  the  city  but  for  the  activities  of  this  Com- 
mittee. One  of  the  best  evidences  of  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment is  that  the  exploiters  of  women  openly  lay  this  responsi- 
bility at  our  door. 

“In  the  last  year  and  a half,  the  Committee  has  been  chiefly 
instrumental  in  closing  more  than  five  hundred  (500)  houses 
of  prostitution  and  disorderly  saloons,  thereby  reducing  the 
income  of  vice  nearly  ten  million  dollars,  which  was  largely 
paid  over  to  male  exploiters  of  women.  This  is  a conserva- 
tive estimate,  based  upon  facts  in  our  possession. 

“During  the  same  time  the  Committee  has  sent  thirty-three 
girls  home  to  their  parents  or  has  had  them  committed  to  cor- 
rectional institutions.” 

These  concrete  facts  are  so  marked  that  they  form 
a note  of  first  importance  in  one  of  Dr.  Graham  Taylor’s 
recent  editorials  to  the  Chicago  Daily  News,  and  will  be 
found  of  great  value  and  interest  in  determining  what 
may  be  done  by  the  concerted  and  continuoits  action  of 
citizens  of  other  large  cities. 


“The  Continents  are  strewn  with  the  ruins  of  dead  nations 
and  civilizations.  What  guarantee  have  we  that  our  modem 
civilization  with  its  pomp  will  not  be  ‘one  with  Nineveh  and 
Tyre’?  The  most  important  question  which  Humanity  ought  to 
address  to  its  historical  scholars  is  this:  ‘Why  did  these  others 
die,  and  what  can  we  do  to  escape  their  fate’?  For  death  is 
not  an  inevitable  and  welcome  necessity  for  a nation  as  it  is 
for  the  indivdual.  Its  strength  and  bloom  could  be  indefinitely 
prolonged  if  the  people  were  wise  and  just  enough  to  avert  the 
cause  of  decay.  There  is  no  inherent  cause  why  a great  group 
of  nations,  such  as  that  which  is  now  united  in  Western  civi- 
lization, should  not  live  on  in  perpetual  youth,  overcoming  by 
a series  of  rejuvenations  every  social  evil  as  it  arises,  and  using 
every  attainment  as  a steppingstone  to  a still  higher  culture 
of  individual  and  social  life.  It  has  never  yet  been  done.  Can 
it  be  done  in  a civilization  in  v/hich  Christianity  is  the  salt  of 
the  earth,  the  social  preservative?  ***** 

“Will  some  Gibbon  of  Mongol  race  sit  by  the  shore  of  the 
Pacific  in  the  year  A.  D.  3000  and  write  on  the  ‘Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Christian  Empire’?  If  so,  he  will  describe  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  centuries  as  the  golden  age  when  out- 
wardly life  flourished  as  never  before,  but  when  that  decay 
resulted  in  the  gradual  collapse  of  the  twenty-first  and  twenty- 
second  centuries. 

“Or  will  the  twentieth  century  mark  for  the  future  his- 
torian the  real  adolescence  of  humanity,  the  great  emancipation 
from  barbarism  and  from  the  paralysis  of  injustice,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  a progress  in  the  intellectual,  social,  and  moral  life 
of  mankind  to  which  all  past  history  has  no  parallel? 

“It  will  depend  on  the  moral  forces  which  the  Christian  na- 
tions can  bring  to  the  fighting  line  against  evil,  and  the  fight- 
ing energy  of  those  forces  will  again  depend  on  the  degree  to 
which  they  are  inspired  by  religious  faith  and  enthusiasm.  It 
is  either  a revival  of  social  religion  or  the  deluge.” 

— “Christianity  and  The  Social  Crisis,”  Rauschenbusch. 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORY  OF  REGULATION. 

The  attitude  of  States  and  Governments  toward  pros- 
titution has  ever  been  based  upon  an  assumption  which  in- 
volves two  fundamental  errors.  These  are : 

First — That,  as  an  institution,  it  is  a necessity,  which 
may  be  regulated,  but  cannot  be  suppressed. 

Second — That  a varying  proportion  of  women  must  al- 
ways exist  as  chattels,  to  be  hired,  bought  or  sold — a sac- 
rifice to  the  lusts  of  men. 

This  two-fold  error  has  so  long  and  so  generally  pre- 
vailed that  historians  have  accepted  it  as  inherent. 

Lecky’s  plea  that  prostitution  is  a necessity  as  a safety 
valve  for  moral  order  is  popular  with  many.^ 

In  taking  a stand  directly  opposed  to  this,  perfect  hu- 

i“Herself  (the  prostitute)  the  supreme  type  of  vice,  she  is 
ultimately  the  most  efficient  guardian  of  virtue.  But  for  her, 
the  unchallenged  purity  of  countless  homes  would  be  polluted, 
and  not  a few,  who,  in  the  pride  of  their  untempted  chastity, 
think  of  her  with  an  indignant  shudder,  would  have  known  the 
agony  of  remorse  and  despair.  On  that  one  degraded  and  ig- 
noble form  are  concentrated  the  passions  that  might  have  filled 
the  world  with  shame.  She  remains,  while  creeds  and  civili- 
zations rise  and  fall,  the  eternal  priestess  of  humanity,  blasted 
for  the  sins  of  the  people.”  . . . Sexual  intercourse  Is  an 

imperious  necessity,  implanted  in  our  nature,  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  which  man  will  brave  any  danger,  however  great,  to 
health  and  even  life.  Whether  descended  from  the  ape,  or 
whether  created  in  the  image  of  his  Maker,  he  is  still  an  ani- 
mal, who,  but  for  the  humanising  influences  of  civilization  and 
Christianity,  would  be  more  savage  than  the  wildest  beast  of 
the  forest.  If  this  postulate  be  admitted,  it  requires  no  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  prostitution  is  an  essential  necessity  of  so- 
ciety. 


14 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


man  relations  are  not  promised  or  prophesied.  Prudence, 
restraint,  and  law,  must  ever  contend  against  error,  pas- 
sion, and  selfishness.  These,  indeed,  are  the  contending 
forces,  through  which  character  is  developed. 

The  passion,  which  is  generally  miscalled  love,  and  which 
is  often  blended  with  love,  as  fragrance  and  color  are 
united  in  a noxious  weed,  as  well  as  in  a fiower; — this  is 
the  propagating  force,  which  is  the  supreme  desire  of  all 
mankind,  and  without  which  the  human  race  would  be- 
come extinct.  That  this  passion  will  sometimes  leap  the 
boundaries  of  restraint  and  judgment  is  to  be  expected. 

We  are  not,  therefore,  looking  for  conditions  of  perfect 
purity,  or  a sinless  society;  at  least  not  until  some  great 
change  shall  come  in  the  moral  order  of  all  earthly  things. 
Until  tnat  event  we  cannot  hope  for  a time  when  there 
shall  be  no  errors  or  social  sins. 

But  as  Shakspeare  says:  “If  the  balance  of  our  lives 
had  not  one  scale  of  reason  to  poise  another  of  sensuality 
the  blood  and  baseness  of  our  natures  would  conduct  us 
to  most  preposterous  conclusions.  ’ ’ ^ 

Prof.  Sheldon  Amos  has  well  said  that  Lecky’s  “pic- 
ture is  that  of  an  endless  vista  of  dissolute  husbands  in 
the  midst  of  happy,  wealthy  and  virtuous  homes ; husbands, 
wives  and  children,  all  contentedly  subsisting  by  virtue 
of  a daily  immolation  of  outcast  and  downtrodden  women. 
The  picture  is  as  false  as  its  conception  of  humanity  is 
unworthy.  Bad  men  do  not  fill  the  world  less  with  shame 
because  they  are  cruel  and  cowardly  enough  to  sacrifice 
to  themselves  the  poor  and  the  weak  in  the  place  of  the 
rich  and  the  strong.  Virtue  and  chastity  are  robbed  of 
their  meaning  when  they  can  be  purchased  only  at  the 
price  of  another’s  degradation. 


' Othello.  ’ Laws  for  the  Regulation  of  Vice. 


History  of  Regulation 


15 


Fornication  is  sin;  “wild  oats”  can  never  be  harvested 
as  good  grain,  and  men  cannot  make  a virtue  of  a fault, 
or  a right  of  a wrong.  To  follow  a tempter  and  commit 
a sin  is  human;  to  induce  others  to  sin  by  force,  cunning 
or  trickery  is  devilish.  There  is  an  appreciable  margin  be- 
tween a fool  and  a rogue — between  a sin  and  a crime. 
When  we  demand  of  the  state  the  suppression  of  vice,  we 
mean,  of  course,  the  suppression  of  the  vice  that  is  a crime 
-—the  merchandise  in  womanhood. 

Shakspeare  marked  the  distinction  in  “Measure  for 
Measure.  ’ ’ 

“Thy  sin  is  not  accidental,  but  a trade”  exclaims  the 
pure-minded,  self-sacrificing  Isabella,  whom  her  own 
brother  would  be  redeemed  by  the  prostitution  of  her  body. 

That  is  the  ground-work  of  our  plea.  Trading  in  sin 
is  a crime,  and  the  function  of  the  law  is  to  suppress  crime, 
never  to  offer  it  terms  of  bargain  or  license. 

Dr.  W.  W.  Sanger,  in  his  “history  of  prostitution,” 
quotes  an  ancient  moralist  as  saying  to  a youth  on  his  enter- 
ing a house  of  ill-fame,  “well  done,  so  shalt  thou  spare 
matrons  and  maidens.”  Medical  practitioners  of  modern 
times,  happily  in  rapidly  lessening  proportions,  have  prac- 
tically adopted  similar  language  to  the  youthful  men  who 
have  sought  their  professional  advice.  “Prostitution  stains 
the  earliest  mythological  records,”  says  Dr.  Sanger,  and 
with  abundant  evidence  he  has  shown  that  it  is  also  a blot 
upon  the  entire  history  of  the  civilization  of  the  human 
race. 

The  inferiority  of  women,  and  their  subjection  to  the 
lusts  of  men,  have  been  asserted  in  the  most  enlightened 
and  human  of  the  laws,  and  customs,  in  all  ages,  down 
to  the  present  day. 

Not  even  the  laws  of  Moses  dealt  with  man  and  woman 


16 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


as  moral  and  social  equals  (Lev.  19:20-22),  although  they 
forbade  prostitution  (Lev.  19:29),  and  the  traffic  as  em- 
ployed in  Pagan  religions  for  revenue  was  denounced 
(Numbers  25). 

Sanger  quotes  Herodotus  as  authority,  that  a law  in 
Egypt  significantly  “forbade  sexual  intercourse  within 
the  walls  of  the  temple”  and  remarks  that  the  scenes  were 
so  gross  that  they  must  be  “left  to  other  works,  and  veiled 
in  a learned  tongue.”  Early  Egypt  was  a veritable  hot- 
bed of  sensuality.  Women  prostitutes  were  not  deemed 
disgraced,  but  their  practices  were  approved  and  the  re- 
ligion of  the  country  was  made  contributory  to,  and  sug- 
gestive of,  immorality.  Men  prostitutes  also  were  com- 
mon. 

Moses  saw  the  degeneracy  of  the  Jewish  people,  and 
especially  the  women — a result,  in  part,  of  their  long  period 
of  slavery  among  the  Egyptians — and  he  instituted  strong 
measures  to  check  the  evils.  Sanger  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  Moses  “laid  penalties  on  uncleanness  of  every 
kind,”  and  that  “with  the  practical  view  of  improving  the 
physical  condition  of  the  race  he  guarded,  by  elaborate 
laws,  against  improper  and  corrupt  unions.^ 

' The  ancient  Semitic  religions  gave  a prominent  place  to 
the  adoration  of  those  powers  in  nature  which  either  fertilize 
or  produce:  the  worship  of  the  sexual  was  prominent  in  their 
cults;  and  ritual  prostitution  was  a recognized  and  wide-spread 
institution.  The  gods  were  male  and  female;  sexual  Intercourse 
was  part  of  the  rites  at  the  Shrines  of  Baal  and  Astarte  in 
Phoenicia  and  at  similar  sanctuaries  elsewhere.  This  unchas- 
tity in  the  religious  institutions  naturally  affected  the  relations 
of  social  life;  and  sexual  purity  was  regarded  as  of  little  mo- 
ment. Possibly  in  no  way  were  the  religious  and  domestic  in- 
stitutions of  Israel  more  markedly  differentiated  from  those  of 
the  surrounding  peoples  than  by  the  stress  laid  upon  the  virtue 
of  chastity.  The  conception  of  the  God  of  Israel  as  the  Holy 
One  meant,  first  of  all,  purity — purity  in  worship,  and  hence 
also  in  life. — Jeivish  Encyclopedia.  Vol.  III.  Art.  on  Chastity. 


History  of  Regulation 


17 


In  Solomon’s  day  there  was  no  recognition  among  the 
Hebrew  people  of  a single  standard  of  morals.  All  the 
weight  of  a double  sin  was  laid  upon  woman.  The  seventh 
chapter  of  Proverbs  contains  a graphic  picture  of  the  seduc- 
tions of  certain  women,  as  a warning  to  young  men,  but 
the  writings  of  the  wise  men  offer  no  warnings  to  women 
and  girls  of  the  greater  dangers  that  assail  them. 

The  early  Phoenicians  made  prostitution  compulsory, 
and  compelled  women  to  yield  the  proceeds  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  goddess.  This  was  afterwards  changed  in 
favor  of  the  women,  so  that  they  could  keep  the  proceeds 
as  matrimonial  prizes. 

Babylon  regulated  prostitution  in  the  name  of  its  god- 
dess (Mylitta) , requiring  every  virgin  girl  to  make  at  least 
one  pilgrimage  to  the  temple  and  surrender  herself  to  the 
choice  of  men  in  honor  of  the  goddess.  A similar  rule  was 
observed  and  enforced  in  Armenia  in  honor  of  the  god- 
dess Anaita.  Chaldea  also  commanded  prostitution  by 
law.  Indeed  this  practice  prevailed  in  Egypt,  Syria, 
Cyprus  and  Carthage.  The  Lydians  and  Parthians  pro- 
vided that  young  girls  might  thus  earn  their  marriage 
portion. 

In  Greece  prostitution  early  became  a state  monopoly 
and  was  so  profitable  that  a superb  temple  was  erected 
with  the  proceeds,  and  dedicated  to  Venus.  Solon  estab- 
lished laws  for  the  gratification  of  men’s  lusts.  Houses 
of  prostitution  were  provided  and  filled  with  slaves  who 
were  compelled  to  yield  to  all  demands,  and  the  business 
became  a source  of  revenue  to  the  government.  One  writer 
states  that  among  the  Greeks  there  were  “just  as  many 
houses  with  male  as  with  female  prostitutes.  ” ^ 

Socrates,  who  is  called  the  “wisest  of  the  Greeks,”  rec- 


’ “Woman  in  the  Pkst,  Present  and  Future.”  Bebel. 


18 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ognized  the  courtezan,  Theodota,  with  favor,  giving  her 
advice  as  to  her  relations  with  her  lovers.  Plato  sought 
to  abolish  marriage  and  to  regard  woman  only  as  a child- 
bearer  in  the  interests  of  the  state.  Thus,  female  virtue 
was  not  esteemed,  but  rather  held  in  contempt.  It  is  said 
that  Socrates  “regarded  sodomy  as  a privilege  and  sign 
of  higher  culture.” 

At  Sparta  a system  was  adopted,  which  is  credited  to 
Lycurgus,  in  which  the  female  was  forcibly  sacrificed  to 
lust. 

In  classic  Athens  there  were  four  distinct  classes  of 
recognized  public  women,  one  of  which,  the  Hetairae,  ex- 
ercised vastly  more  influence  in  society  and  were  more 
free  than  married  women.  Another  class  was  under  the 
control  of  the  municipal  police — the  women  being  held  in 
professional  brothels.  By  the  payment  of  a license  fee, 
or  tax,  to  the  state,  speculators  were  permitted  to  open 
schools  for  the  teaching  of  the  basest  forms  of  immorality. 
Lecky  says : ‘ ‘ The  only  free  woman  in  Athens  was  the 

courtezan.  ’ ’ 

Italy. — We  find  no  official  statistics  of  the  numbers  of 
female  prostitutes  in  Italian  cities  at  this  early  period,  but 
Sanger  states  that  during  “Trajan’s  reign  the  police  were 
enabled  to  count  thirty-two  thousand  in  Rome  alone,  but 
this  number  obviously  fell  short  of  the  truth.  One  is  ap- 
palled at  the  great  variety  of  classes  into  which  the  pros- 
tibulae,  or  registered  prostitutes,  were  divided.”  From  the 
same  source  we  learn  that  “the  number  of  male  prostitutes 
were  probably  fully  as  large  as  that  of  the  females ; that, 
as  in  Greece,  the  degrading  phenomenon  involved  very 
little  disgrace ; that  all  the  Roman  authors  allude  to  it  as 
a matter  of  course.”  But  we  do  not  learn  that  any  at- 
tempt was  ever  made  to  regulate,  or  license,  these  male 


History  of  Regulation 


19 


perverts.  “The  aedile  abstained  from  interference,  save 
when  a youth  suffered  violence.”  It  was  the  duty  of  the 
aedile  magistrate  to  arrest,  punish  and  drive  out  of  the 
city  all  loose  prostitutes  who  were  not  inscribed  on  his  book. 
This  regulation  was  practically  a dead  letter.  At  no  time 
in  the  history  of  the  empire  did  there  cease  to  be  a large 
and  well-known  class  of  prostitutes  who  were  not  recorded. 
They  paid  no  tax  to  the  state,  while  their  registered  rivals 
contributed  largely  to  the  municipal  treasury,  and  if  they 
ran  greater  risks,  and  incurred  more  nominal  infamy  than 
the  latter,  they  more  frequently  contrived  to  rise  from 
their  unhappy  condition. 

The  Regulation  system  was  formerly  modeled  on  that 
of  France,  and  was  equally  rigorous.  In  1888  it  was  abol- 
ished by  Signor  Crispi,  who  was  then  Prime  Minister,  but 
the  decree  remained  a dead  letter,  and  the  police  allowed 
such  scandals  in  the  streets  that  re-enactment  was  de- 
manded. Subsequent  decrees  in  1891,  1901  and  1905  have 
introduced  considerable  modifications..  The  present  system 
is  briefiy  as  follows : special  facilities  are  given  for  the  treat- 
ment of  venereal  diseases  in  dispensaries  and  hospitals,  and 
the  cost  is  borne  by  the  State ; no  fee  is  charged  to  such 
patients;  no  compulsion  is  exercised,  and  they  are  not  even 
obliged  to  give  their  names;  for  out-patients  there  are  spe- 
cial departments  or  dispensaries  at  convenient  hours ; in- 
patients are  treated  in  the  General  Hospitals,  as  well  as  in 
special  hospitals. 

Prostitution  of  minors  is  forbidden.  In  regard  to 
adults,  there  is  no  interference  with  prostitutes  unless  they 
cause  public  scandal.  But  if  two  or  more  such  women 
live  together  the  house  must  have  a permit  from  the  author- 
ities; the  keeper  of  such  a house  is  responsible  for  the 


20 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


health  of  the  inmates,  but  has  no  legal  power  to  detain 
them.  ’ ’ 

“The  rapid  progress  of  a sensual  tone  in  all  the  schools  of 
Italian  art  in  the  sixteenth  century,  is  a fact  which  is  too  man- 
ifest to  be  questioned,  or  overlooked.  Sleeping  like  Venus  of 
old  upon  her  parent  wave,  Venice,  at  least  in  the  period  of 
her  glory,  comprised  within  herself  all  the  influences  that  could 
lull  the  moral  sentiment  to  repose.  Wherever  the  eye  was 
turned,  it  was  met  by  forms  of  strange  and  varied  and  entranc- 
ing beauty,  while  every  sound  that  broke  upon  the  ear  was 
mellowed  by  the  waters  that  were  below.  The  thousands  of 
lights  that  glittered  around  the  gilded  domes  of  St.  Mark,  the 
palaces  of  matchless  architecture  resting  on  their  own  soft 
shadows  in  the  wave,  the  long  paths  of  murmuring  water  where 
the  gondola  sways  to  the  lover’s  song,  and  where  dark  eyes 
lustrous  with  passion  gleam  from  the  overhanging  balconies, 
the  harmony  of  blending  beauties,  and  the  languid  and  volup- 
tuous charm  that  pervades  the  whole,  had  all  told  deeply  and 
fatally  on  the  character  of  the  people.  At  every  period  of  their 
history,  but  never  more  so  than  in  the  great  period  of  Venetian 
art,  they  had  been  distinguished  at  once  for  their  intense  appre- 
ciation of  beauty  and  for  their  universal,  unbridled,  and  undis- 
guised licentiousness.  In  the  midst  of  such  a society  it  was  very 
natural  that  a great  school  of  sensual  art  should  arise,  and  many 
circumstances  conspired  in  the  same  direction.  The  study  of  the 
nude  figure,  which  had  been  the  mainspring  of  Greek  art,  and 
which  Christianity  had  so  long  suppressed,  arose  again,  and  a 
school  of  painting  was  formed,  which  for  subtle  sensuality  of 
coloring  had  never  been  equalled.  Both  the  sculptor  and  the 
paintef  precipitated  art  into  sensuality,  both  of  them  destroyed 
its  religious  character,  both  of  them  raised  it  to  high  aesthetic 
perfection,  but  in  both  cases  that  perfection  was  followed  by  a 
speedy  decline.” — Rationalism  in  Europe,  Lecky,  Vol.  I,  pp.  254 
to  256. 

Rome. — The  sensualities  of  early  Rome  are  known,  more 
or  less,  to  every  reader  of  history.  The  records  of  them 
are  open  books  to  the  youth  of  our  high  schools  and  col- 
leges. Tiberius,  Caligula,  Augustus  and  Nero  are  names 


History  of  Regulation 


21 


which  reek  with  the  abominations  of  vice,  mingled  with 
the  cruelties  that  attend  unbridled  lust  and  power. 

In  Rome  segregation,  as  applied  to  one  sex,  was  the 
law,  licensed  women  being  relegated  to  a certain  prescribed 
quarter  of  the  city.  Wherever  Rome  ruled  the  license  sys- 
tem prevailed,  and  in  every  country  under  that  rule  female 
prostitutes  were  allowed  to  carry  on  their  business  in  pre- 
scribed quarters,  and  were  subject  to  a special  tax.  In  many 
places  they  were  compelled  to  wear  a special  uniform. 
These  women  were  compelled  to  register  as  prostitutes  and 
to  declare  that  they  intended  to  make  it  the  calling  of 
their  lives.  Roman  law  aimed  at  closing  all  doors  against 
the  reformation  of  such  women. 

Archdeacon  Farrar  writes  in  his  “Life  of  Christ”  of 
the  morals  at  that  time  as  the  “bad  age”  when  corruption 
was  so  universal  when,  in  Rome,  marriage  had  fallen 
into  such  contempt  and  desuetude,  that  a law  had  to  be 
passed  which  rendered  celibates  liable  to  a fine. 

Is  there  any  wonder  that  the  “Fall”  of  the  Roman 
Empire  should  so  soon  follow  its  unprecedented  “Rise”  to 
affluence  and  power,  when  it  could  be  said  that  “the  idea  of 
sanctity  was  so  far  removed  from  the  popular  divinities 
that  it  became  a continual  complaint  that  prayers  were 
offered  which  the  most  depraved  would  blush  to  pronounce 
aloud?”  ^ 

We  are  reminded  of  the  words  of  the  eminent  British 
statesman,  Sir  James  Stansfeld,  at  the  first  international 
congress  against  commercialized  vice  held  in  Geneva,  Swit- 
zerland, in  1872.  “There  is  no  Nation  in  the  world’s  his- 
tory which  has  given  itself  up  to  sexual  vice  without  be- 
coming enslaved,  or  disappearing  off  the  face  of  the  earth, 
as  if  at  the  breath  of  God.” 

' Suetonius,  quoted  by  Lecky. 


22 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


The  pages  of  Suetonius  remain  as  an  eternal  witness 
of  the  abysses  of  depravity — the  hideous,  intolerable 
cruelty,  the  hitherto  unimagined  extravagances  of  name- 
less lust  that  were  then  manifested  on  the  Palatine.  “It 
was  the  most  frightful  feature  of  the  corruption  of  Ancient 
Rome  that  it  extended  through  ^every  class  of  the  com- 
munity. Greek  and  Oriental  captives  were  innumerable 
in  Rome.  Ionian  Slaves  of  a surpassing  beauty,  Alexan- 
drian slaves,  famous  for  their  subtle  skill  in  stimulating 
the  jaded  senses  of  the  confirmed  and  sated  libertine,  be- 
came the  ornaments  of  every  patrician  house,  the  com- 
panions and  instructors  of  the  young.  The  disinclination  to 
marriage  was  so  general  that  men  who  spent  their  lives 
in  endeavoring  by  fiatteries  to  secure  the  inheritance  of 
wealthy  bachelors  became  a numerous  and  notorious  class. 
The  slave  population  was  itself  a hotbed  of  %fice,  idleness, 
amusement  and  a rare  subsistence  were  alone  desired, 
and  the  general  practice  of  abortion  among  the  rich,  and  of 
infanticide  and  exposition  in  all  classes  still  further  cheeked 
the  population.”  ^ 

Tacitus  informs  us  that  “from  time  immemorial  pros- 
titutes had  been  required  to  register  in  the  office  of  the 
aedile”  and  Sanger  says  that  the  “prostitute  once  inscribed 
incurred  the  taint  of  infamy  which  nothing  could  wipe 
off.  Repentance  was  impossible,  even  when  she  married 
and  became  the  mother  of  legitimate  children;  the  fatal 
inscription  was  still  there  to  bear  witness  of  her  infamy.  ’ ’ 

This  has  ever  been  true  of  the  “license”  and  the  “reg- 
istration” system.  Once  a woman  is  inscribed  on  a police 
register,  as  in  France,  or  in  England  under  the  Contagious 
Diseases  Acts,  the  door  of  hope  was  closed.  There  is  more 
hope  for  a criminal  in  the  penitentiary  whose  portrait 


' “European  Morals,”  Lecky,  Vol.  I,  pp.  263-4. 


History  of  Regulation 


23 


hangs  in  the  rogues  ’ gallery  than  for  a woman  registered  as 
a public  prostitute. 

Prance. — The  France  of  today  is  reaping  the  harvest 
of  its  wild  oats-sowing  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  all  civiliza- 
tion is  affected  by  the  rampant  vices  which  were  clothed 
with  gilded  gayety,  and  spread  by  the  influence  of  the 
aristocracy  and  the  court  of  that  country.  Under  Louis 
VIII.,  A.  D.  1225,  efforts  were  made  to  regulate  prostitu- 
tion, which  proved  so  disastrous  that  Louis  IX.  tried  to 
cure  the  evil  by  banishing  the  prostitutes  as  exiles  from 
the  kingdom.  “Women  were  seized  and  imprisoned,  or  sent 
across  the  frontier,  and  severe  punishments  were  inflicted 
on  those  who  returned  to  Paris,”  but  we  do  not  read  of 
any  action,  here  or  elsewhere,  to  punish  men. 

Sanger  says  that  “in  the  reign  of  Charles  VI.  the  rev- 
enues of  the  traffic  in  the  city  of  Toulouse  were  yielded 
to  the  hospitals,  on  condition  that  they  would  receive  and 
cure  all  females  attacked  by  venereal  diseases ; it  was 
found,  after  six  years’  trial,  that  it  cost  more  than  it 
yielded,  and  the  hospitals  surrendered  the  revenues  back 
to  the  city.” 

Charles  and  his  wife  conducted  their  Court  in  open  de- 
fiance of  ail  forms  of  decency,  and  the  insanity  of  the  King 
is  attributed,  by  historians,  to  his  immoralities. 

Charles  VII.  was  hardly  an  improvement  on  his  pre- 
decessor, and  his  son,  Louis  XI.,  had  a seraglio  and  a 
colony  of  bastards  before  he  became  King;  nor  did  he 
abandon  his  immoralities  when  he  wore  the  crown. 

Francis  I.  was  an  early  victim  of  syphilis,  and  it  is 
related  that  the  Court  in  his  day  was  the  grossest  and 
general  conditions  of  morals  were  the  worst  ever  known 
in  Prance.  The  surrender  of  private  ladies  to  the  King 


24 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


was  the  price  paid  for  favors  to  their  friends.  Francis 
was  another  King  who  died  of  syphilis. 

Henry  II.  was  faithful,  not  to  his  wife,  but  to  his  mis- 
tress, with  whom  he  shamelessly  appeared  in  public. 

During  all  this  period  indecency  in  art,  lewd  books  and 
instruments  of  debauchery  were  freely  sold ; poets,  painters 
and  sculptors  prostituted  their  genius  to  the  basest  uses, 
and  no  one  was  prosecuted  for  selling  or  distributing  their 
base  products. 

Charles  VIII.  was  but  a boy  of  13  when  he  became 
King,  and  although  his  Court  was  conducted  a little  bet- 
ter, yet  his  personal  conduct  was  such  that  his  chroniclers 
say  he  died  a victim  of  his  passion. 

In  1684  Louis  XIV.  provided  prisons  for  prostitutes; 
in  1724  they  were  turned  over  to  the  police,  who  have  ever 
since  been  the  irresponsible  rulers  and  licensing  authority 
of  the  brothel  and  its  inmates. 

Parent-Duchalet,  an  eminent  authority,  states  that  from 
1724  to  1788  the  following  rules  applied: 

1.  Brothels  were  licensed  by  the  police. 

2.  Prostitutes  were  never  troubled  except  on  complaint 

of  a responsible  person. 

3.  Brothels  that  were  disorderly  were  subject  to  the 

police. 

4.  Punishment  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Mag- 

istrate. 

5.  Penalties  rose  higher  toward  the  close  of  the  period. 

6.  Certain  streets  in  Paris  were  wholly  occupied  by 

prostitutes  and  their  keepers. 

France,  says  Benjamin  Scott,  “has  the  bad  pre-emi- 
nence of  being  the  most  forward  and  most  devoted  copyist 
of  the  vile  Grecian  and  Roman  systems  of  vice-licensing.” 

“In  1796  the  new  Register  was  begun  in  Paris  and, 


History  of  Regulation 


25 


under  the  government  of  the  Revolution,  agents  were  em- 
ployed to  find  and  register  the  women.  Buonaparte  re- 
established the  Workmen’s  Guilds,  amongst  which  that  of 
the  prostitutes  was  reckoned,  and  these  guilds  were  put 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  police,  who  kept  the 
prostitutes  as  a distinct  caste,  in  a prescribed  quarter  of 
the  city,  and  enforced  registration  and  submission  to  their 
regulations.  ’ ’ ‘ 

A distinguished  authority  has  recorded  his  judgment 
that  the  overthrow  of  the  third  Napoleon  and  his  mag- 
nificent armies  was  due  less  to  German  physical  superiority, 
battalions  and  bullets  than  to  the  emasculation  of  French 
manhood  by  the  refinements  of  scientific  vice. 

“The  Government  in  1903  appointed  an  extra  Parlia- 
mentary Commission.  This  Commission  consisted  of  68  per- 
sons, 7 senators,  17  deputies,  6 professors  of  medicine  and 
2 of  law.  The  rest  were  mainly  officials  of  Law  Courts,  Gov- 
ernment Departments  or  municipalities.  The  Commission 
included  one  woman.  The  report  was  presented  in  1907 
in  the  form  of  a bill  to  deal  with  the  whole  matter.  The 
main  points  in  this  bill  are  as  follows : The  arbitrary  action 
of  the  police  is  to  be  put  an  end  to  by  bringing  the  whole 
matter  under  the  ordinary  laAV,  equal  for  men  and  women ; 
no  register  is  to  be  kept  of  prostitutes  and  no  laws  or  reg- 
ulations are  to  be  made  for  them  other  than  those  which 
apply  to  the  community  in  general ; the  law  is  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  prostitution  in  one  case  only,  namely,  its  prac- 
tice by  minors  and  then  only  to  prohibit  it  absolutely ; 
any  person  who  exploits  the  immorality  of  others  for  his 
own  pecuniary  gain,  even  with  the  consent  of  the  persons 
concerned,  shall  be  punished ; this  is  to  include  persons  who 
let  rooms  or  houses  for  the  purposes  of  prostitution.  ’ ’ 


* “A  State  Iniquity,”  Benjamin  Scott. 


26 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Spain. — Spain  was  one  of  the  countries  in  Europe  that 
resisted  the  Roman  system  in  the  early  period.  In  the 
twelfth  century  procurers  were  subject  to  civil  death. 

1.  Men  who  trafficked  in  debauchery  were  banished. 

2.  Keepers  of  houses  were  fined  and  the  houses  con- 

fiscated. 

3.  Brothel-keepers  who  hired  prostitutes — if  slaves, 

were  manumitted ; if  free,  were  dowried  at  the 
cost  of  the  offender. 

4.  Husbands  conniving  at  prostitution,  or  the  dishonor 

of  their  wives  were  liable  to  capital  punishment. 

5.  The  Ruffians,  who  were  the  pimps  and  bullies,  were 

banished,  flogged,  imprisoned  or  punished — any 
way  to  get  rid  of  them. 

In  1556  this  latter  class  were,  on  conviction,  sentenced 
to  ten  years  at  the  galleys ; for  second  conviction,  two  hun- 
dred stripes  and  the  galleys  for  life.  But  in  later  years 
Spain  succumbed  to  the  prevailing  influences,  and  regula- 
tions were  enforced  similar  to  those  in  France. 

“Regulation  of  the  French  pattern  is  in  force  in  most 
cities.  A Royal  Decree  in  November,  1910,  ordered  the 
closing  of  the  tolerated  houses  in  Madrid,  but  it  does  not 
appear  to  have  had  much  effect.  ’ ’ 

England. — State  sanction  of  vice  began  in  1161  and 
assumed  degrees  of  moral  obliquity  that  seems  incredibly 
low.  Some  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  church  sought  it 
as  a means  of  revenue.  Brothels  called  “stews”  were 
actually  located  in  church  property,  and  at  Southwark 
they  were  licensed  and  regulated  by  the  Bishop.  This  fact 
is  confirmed  by  various  authors.  Professor  Sheldon  Amos 
publishes  a list  of  regulations  which  were  sanctioned  by 
Parliament  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II. ^ 

' See  “Laws  for  the  Regulation  of  Vice.” 


History  of  Regulation 


27 


Repeated  reference  is  made  to  the  maintenance  and 
regulation  of  these  “stews”  in  Stow’s  “Survey  of  the 
City  of  London”  and  Fuller’s  “Church  History  of  Brit- 
ain.” In  1381  the  “stews”  were  farmed  by  William  Wal- 
worth, then  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  According  to  Fuller, 
the  Southwark  “stews”  were  suppressed  in  1546,  under 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  which,  he  says,  “was  proclaimed 
by  sound  of  trumpet  no  more  to  be  privileged  and  used 
as  a common  brothel,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  to 
keep  good  and  honest  rule.”  “But,”  continues  Fuller, 
“though  the  sin  was  no  longer  allowed  in  this  place,  yet  the 
same  sin  still  remained.  ’ ’ 

“Soon  after  the  death  of  Charles  I,  the  supremacy  of  the 
Puritans  secured  the  passing  of  a severe  enactment  ‘for  sup- 
pressing the  detestable  sins  of  incest,  adultery  and  fornication.’ 
The  Act  was  passed  on  the  10th  of  May,  1650.  Incest  and  adul- 
tery were  to  be  generally  punished  with  death.  In  case  of 
fornication,  both  parties  were  to  be  punished  with  three  months 
without  bail,  and  were  to  give  security  for  good  behavior  for 
a year.  Every  common  bawd,  be  it  man  or  woman,  wittingly 
keeping  a brothel  or  bawdy  house,  for  the  first  offense  was  to 
be  openly  whipped,  set  in  the  pillory  and  then  marked  with  a 
hot  iron  with  a B,  also  to  be  committed  to  the  house  of  correc- 
tion for  three  years  and  until  sufficient  security  be  given  for 
good  behavior  during  life.  The  persons,  a second  time  found 
guilty  of  all  the  last  recited  offenses,  were  to  suffer  death. — Par- 
liamentary History  of  England,  Vol.  19;  p.  259. 

This,  at  last,  assumed  the  character  of  suppression  in 
place  of  regulation,  but,  like  the  old  law  which  Angelo  re- 
vives in  Shakspeare’s  “Measure  for  Measure,’”  the  ex- 
treme penal  measures  defeated  their  object.  Professor  Amos 
says : ‘ ‘ From  the  date  of  the  important  effort  of  this  Act 
of  1650,  a hundred  years  passed  before  the  next  phase  of 


'See  “The  Bible  in  Shakspeare,’’  p.  70. 


28 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


legislation  presented  itself,  and  which  extends  from  the 
year  1752  almost  to  the  present  age.” 

“Macaulay,  describing  the  conditions  of  society  in  Eng- 
land when  some  of  the  noblest  and  purest  spirits  were 
driven  to  other  lands  to  seek  liberty  and  the  right  to  wor- 
ship God,  speaks  of  those  days,  “never  to  be  recalled  with- 
out a blush ; the  days  of  servitude  without  loyalty,  sen- 
suality without  love,  of  dwarfish  talents  and  gigantic  vices, 
the  paradise  of  cold  hearts  and  narrow  minds,  the  golden 
age  of  the  coward,  the  bigot  and  the  slave. 

“In  the  Middle  Ages  prostitution  was  regarded  as  a 
necessary  part  of  the  social  organization ; any  laws  on  the 
subject  aimed  at  keeping  prostitutes  as  a distinct  class  and 
exploiting  them  for  the  purposes  of  revenue.  The  great 
epidemic  of  syphilis  in  the  fifteenth  century  led  to  attempts 
at  penalization,  sometimes  of  disease,  sometimes  of  prosti- 
tution itself.  On  the  statute  books  of  some  countries  there 
are  still  laws  which  date  from  this  earlier  period. 

‘ ‘ The  nineteenth  century  was  the  era  of  Regulation.  The 
first  definite  registration  of  prostitutes  for  the  purpose  of 
medical  control  was  instituted  in  Paris  under  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  in  1802,  and  other  countries  by  degrees  followed 
suit.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  it  had  spread  all  over 
the  continent  of  Europe,  not  by  legal  enactments,  but  as 
a matter  of  police  administration. 

In  England  a general  policy  of  laissez  faire  existed.  No 
other  action  was  taken  by  the  government  of  England,  ex- 
cept such  general  police  laws  as  were  supposed  to  discour- 
age, or  repress,  prostitution,  until  in  1864,  when  the  first 
of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  was  passed.  This  Act  was 
repealed  and  the  Act  of  1866  substituted;  and  this  ag^ain 

iBssay  on  Milton. 

2Dr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  London,  England. 


History  of  Regulation 


29 


was  amended  in  1869,  extending  the  operation  of  its  pro- 
visions over  a wider  area. 

British  Colonies,  Etc. — For  about  100  years  the  mil- 
itary authorities  of  the  British  government  sought  to  reg- 
ulate prostitution  for  the  assumed  benefit  of  the  British 
army.  Naturally,  therefore,  when  the  home  government 
adopted  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  the  military  depart- 
ments in  India  applied  them,  and  they  enforced  them  with 
vigor  and  employed  more  revolting  methods  than  were  oper- 
ating in  England.  In  so  doing  they  made  the  government 
a public  “pander”  and  a gigantic  “white-slave”  trader. 

Dr.  Ross,  an  army  surgeon,  gave  the  following  evidence 
before  the  British  Royal  Commission  in  1871 : 

“When  a Regiment  arrives  in  India,  a certain  establishment 
is  told  off  for  each  regiment  as  it  arrives,  and  amongst  others 
there  is  an  establishment  of  prostitutes,  who  are  housed  in  the 
bazaars,  and  regularly  looked  after  by  the  matron  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  and  superintended  and  examined  by  the  surgeon 
of  the  regiment. 

“When  a Regiment  goes  on  a line  of  march,  there  is  a form 
to  be  filled  up,  and  in  one  column  there  is  amongst  the  camp- 
followers  one  for  prostitutes,  showing  the  number  who  are  per- 
mitted to  follow  the  regiment;  and  those  women  we  made  a 
point  of  examining  every  fortnight. 

“There  is  a head  woman  under  the  name  of  the  Matranee, 
who  is  at  the  head  of  the  kusbees  or  prostitutes.  She  selects 
the  women;  she  is  told  that  such  and  such  a regiment  is  com- 
ing into  the  station,  and,  according  to  whether  the  regiment 
has  had  a name  sent  before  it  or  otherwise,  she  gets  a small 
or  a large  number  of  women  to  come  to  her.” 

These  practices  were  zealously  fostered  by  the  Authorities. 
Laws  were  passed  and  numerous  official  instructions  were  from 
time  to  time  given  in  regard  to  them.  One  of  these  (dated 
12th  July,  1884)  drew  attention  “to  the  desirability,  when  con- 
structing free  quarters  for  registered  women,  of  providing 
houses  that  will  meet  the  wishes  of  the  women.  Unless  their 
comfort,  and  the  convenience  of  those  who  consort  with  them  is 


30 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


considered,  the  result  will  not  be  satisfactory.”  In  other  words, 
efforts  were  to  be  made  to  render  immorality  as  agreeable  as 
possible  to  both  of  the  parties  to  it. 

Another  of  these  instructions  (which  has  been  well  desig- 
nated ‘‘the  infamous  memorandum”)  was  issued  in  1886  under 
the  authority  of  Lord  Roberts — then  Commander-in-Chief  in 
India.  It  stated  among  other  things  that  it  is  necessary  ‘‘to 
arrange  for  the  effective  inspection  of  prostitutes  attached  to 
regimental  bazaars,  whether  in  Cantonments,  or  on  the  line  of 

march to  have  a sufScient  number  of  women,  to 

take  care  that  they  are  sufficiently  attractive,  to  provide  them 
with  proper  houses ” Is  it  surprising  that  one  com- 

manding officer  promptly  acted  on  this  advice  by  sending  a 
“requisition  for  extra  attractive  women  for  regimental  bazaar 
in  accofdance  with  circular”;  and  that  others  acted  similarly? 

The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  in  England  were  abolished  in 
1886;  and  in  1888,  a resolution  condemning  the  whole  system 
in  India,  and  urging  its  discontinuance,  was  carried  in  the 
House  of  Commons  without  anyone  venturing  to  vote  against  it. 

The  horrible  practices,  therefore,  ought  to  have  been  dis- 
cpntinued  at  once,  but  the  military  authorities  disobeyed  in- 
structions to  that  effect,  and  it  was  proved  before  a Depart- 
mental Committee  in  1893  that  things  were  going  on  as  before. 
Consequently  the  British  Government  ordered  the  Indian  au- 
thorities to  pass  an  act  prohibiting  all  those  practices,  or  the 
making  of  any  rules  to  sanction  them,  and  this  was  done  in 
1895. 

Queensland. — A Contagious  Diseases  Act  is  in  force  in 
Queensland  and  Cape  Colony.  New  Zealand  repealed  a 
similar  act  in  1910.^ 

No  system  of  regulation  such  as  the  Contagious  Diseases 
Acts  prevails  in  Canada.  Attempts  have  been  made  there 
to  introduce  it,  but  failed. 

Hong  Kong. — In  the  British  dependencies  of  China  the 
same  military  influences  were  at  work.  Sir  John  Bowring 
introduced  a license  system  in  Hong  Kong  in  1857.  The 

^ Similar  ordinances  were  in  operation  in  New  South  Wales, 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  other  British  dependencies. 


History  of  Regulation 


31 


ordinance  enacting  this  license  law  contained  all  the  most 
rigorous  features  of  segregation,  registration  and  license. 

Malta.— Sir  Henry  Storks  became  famous  for  his  vig- 
orous enforcement  of  the  system  when  he  was  governor  of 
Slalta,  and  an  ordinance  was  passed  in  1861  which  was  sim- 
ilar in  its  operation  to  that  at  Bombay.  Later  Storks  sought 
election  for  a seat  in  the  English  Parliament,  but  lost  it 
in  a perfect  storm  of  opposition  because  of  his  attitude  on 
this  subject.  See  Chapter  3. 

Germany. — According  to  a German  authority  public 
brothels  were  dissolved  in  1537,  and  in  1551  they  were  again 
established  and  women  “were  provided  for  guests  of  rank 
at  the  expense  of  the  town.  In  all  towns  there  were  brothels 
belonging  to  the  municipality,  to  the  Sovereign,  or  even  to 
the  Church,  the  proceeds  of  which  flowed  into  the  treas- 
ury of  their  proprietor.”  (August  Bebel.) 

In  Berlin  the  regulations  are  police  orders  which  pre- 
vail under  a “Resolution  of  the  Royal  Presidency  of 
Police”  Dec.  18,  1850.  The  following  is  the  preamble  of 
that  resolution : 

“ It  is  admitted  that  prostitution,  that  parasite  of  society, 
cannot  be  suppressed  by  any  violent  measure  of  any  kind 
whatever;  that  every  attempt  in  this  direction  only  aggra- 
vates the  evil,  and  that,  in  consequence,  it  is  necessary  to 
accord  to  it  a certain  tolerance,  under  police  supervision, 
varying  according  to  places  and  circumstances. 

‘ ‘ The  practice  in  different  cities  varies  widely.  In  many 
places  tolerated  houses  are  encouraged  and  the  French  sys- 
tem is  followed.  In  Bremen  there  is  a segregated  district — 
a kind  of  barracks  where  a large  number  of  prostitutes 
live,  each  in  her  own  quarters,  under  the  strictest  police 
and  medical  control.  In  Berlin,  on  the  contrary,  the  police 
endeavor  to  enforce  the  law  against  brothels,  which  are 


32 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


believed  to  be  strongholds  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic.  The 
registration  and  sanitary  supervision  of  known  prostitutes 
is  very  vigorously  carried  out,  but  in  Berlin,  as  elsewhere, 
there  are  a great  many  clandestines  who  escape  the  vigilance 
of  the  police.” 

Hamburg.— A public  edict,  of  1506,  forbade  the  keeping 
of  brothels  in  Hamburg  and  Amsterdam  except  by  the 
municipal  police  themselves.  Dr.  Jeannel  remarks,  in  his 
work  on  Prostitution,  that  the  regulations  of  1834,  which 
are  now  in  force,  “appear  to  have  something  of  the  spirit 
of  the  ancient  edict  by  virtue  of  which  the  police  agents 
themselves  were  the  brothel  keepers.” 

In  the  Berlin  regulations,  as  in  those  of  Hamburg,  the 
keepers  of  brothels  are  designated  as  men. 

Vienna. — The  British  Government  received  a dispatch 
dated  March  19,  1869,  from  the  Royal  IMinistry  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  which  stated  that  “No  registry  of  prostitution  is 
kept  in  Vienna,  as  allurement  and  pimping,  and  fraud  in 
allurement  are  forbidden  by  the  laws  of  March  27,  1852.” 
In  a work  on  the  Institutions  of  Austria,  quoted  by  Shel- 
don Amos,  the  following  statement  is  made : ‘ ‘ Public 

brothels  are  not  tolerated  by  the  police,  and  common  women 
are  sent  into  houses  of  correction ; this,  however,  is  but  the 
letter  of  the  law,  not  the  practice,  for  though  it  has  been 
stated  that,  owing  to  the  present  condition  of  morality, 
such  persons  are  not  required  in  that  country,  yet  the 

Bloch,  a great  German  authority,  says  that  “in  the  middle 
ages  a sufficient  supply  of  women  was  imported  by  way  of  en- 
tertaining the  delegates  to  Church  congresses  and  the  follow- 
ing proverb  is  quoted  “Gem  Studenten  ist  ja  alles  erlaubt. 
To  the  student  everything  is  allowed.”  “Dr.  Magnus  Moller 
tells  of  a club  of  military  officers  existing  in  Stockholm  in  the 
early  nineties  to  which  no  one  was  eligible  until  he  could  prove 
that  he  had  had  syphilis.  Quite  as  flagrantly  boys  have  been 
practically  coerced  into  sowing  wild  oats.” — Prostitution  in 
Europe,  Flexner. 


History  of  Regulation 


33 


lowest  calculation  allows  the  number  of  common  women  in 
the  capital  to  be  15,000.” 

Denmabk-Copenhagen — Parent-Duclialet  publishes  a 
paper  by  M.  Braestrup,  Director  of  Police  at  Copenhagen, 
in  which  he  says : ‘ ‘ The  general  administration  has  not 

only  tacitly  tolerated  the  existence  of  prostitution,  but  it 
has  given  it  indirectly  a sort  of  sanction,  by  a royal  ordi- 
nance dated  the  9th  of  March,  1809,  which  has  remained 
in  force  since  that  time.  The  situation  of  the  common 
women  does  not  consequently  depend  upon  any  legal  pro- 
visions; they  are  placed  under  the  discretionary  authority 
of  the  police,  which  has  insensibly  acquired  the  Control  of 
prostitution,  as  was  demanded  by  public  morality.  ’ ’ Broth 
els  here  are  not  publicly  licensed;  there  are  periodical  ex- 
aminations of  registered  prostitutes  once  a fortnight.  Li- 
censing of  brothels  was  discontinued  a few  years  ago. 

‘■‘A  stringent  system  of  Eegulation  was  in  force  up  to 
1906,  when  it  was  abolished  and  the  present  system  sub- 
stituted. Its  fundamentals  are — no  special  measures  for 
prostitutes,  penalties  for  communication  of  disease,  free 
medical  treatment  for  all  with  a corresponding  obligation 
on  the  patient  to  carry  out  treatment.” 

In  Denmark,  doctors  have  for  many  years  been  required 
to  notify  all  venereal  cases  for  statistical  purposes,  though 
without  name  or  address.  As  might  be  expected;  the  re- 
moval of  the  motives  for  concealment  which  are  inevitable 
under  Regulation  coupled  with  the  provision  of  free  dis- 
pensaries, produced  a considerable  increase  in  the  number 
of  cases  under  treatment.  The  totals  in  Copenhagen  for 
all  forms  of  venereal  disease  are  as  follows : 


Year 

No.  of  Cases 

Year 

No.  of  Cases 

1905  ... 

6,666 

1908  ... 

9,957 

1906  ... 

7,065 

1909  ... 

. .9,280 

1907  ... 

8,383 

1910  ... 

..;9,274r 

34 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Belgium  and  Brussels. — Belgium  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  most  thoroughly  regulated,  and  is  quoted  in 
other  countries  as  the  model. 

Dr.  Mireur  in  his  work  on  prostitution  says,  “Things 
had  arrived  at  a certain  degree  of  perfection  when,  in 
1855,  the  Belgian  government,  desirous  of  further  extend- 
ing these  sanitary  measures,  invited  the  superior  council  of 
hygiene  to  make  a supreme  effort,  and  to  elaborate  a gen- 
eral regulation  of  prostitution,  so  complete  and  so  prac- 
tical, as  to  be  recommended  to  all  the  communes  of  the 
Kingdom.  In  1856,  the  council  of  hygiene,  in  response  to 
this  appeal,  submitted  its  scheme  of  regulation,  which  is 
the  last  and  most  perfect  expression  of  the  measures  in- 
stituted in  Belgium.” 

“The  Brussels  system  received  a great  blow  in  1881,  by 
the  revelations  of  the  traffic  in  English  girls  and  little  chil- 
dren carried  on  in  the  tolerated  houses  with  the  connivance 
of  the  police.  The  system  is  believed  to  be  much  relaxed, 
but  no  very  recent  information  is  available.” 

The  System  includes  the  registration  of  every  woman 
“known  to  live  on  prostitution”  and  such  are  forcibly  ex- 
amined and  registered  and  must  appear  regularly  for  ex- 
amination. All  brothels  must  be  licensed  by  the  council 
of  burgomasters  and  are  divided  into  two  classes. 

Hungary. — Police  regulation  is  authorized  by  statute 
in  this  country.  With  the  exception  of  the  English  “Con- 
tagious Diseases  Acts”  this  is  the  only  record  of  such  legis- 
lation by  a national  authority,  the  rule  being  to  refer  the 
subject  wholly  to  the  police,  who  made  their  own  laws  on 
the  subject  and  became  absolute  in  authority  over  the 
women  subject. 

Austria. — “Until  1873  very  severe  penalties  were  im- 
posed on  all  prostitutes  but  the  law  proved  inefficacious. 


History  of  Regulation 


35 


as  such  laws  always  do.  To  remedy  the  scandalous  condi- 
tions that  prevailed  regulations  were  introduced,  and  these 
have  been  very  frequently  changed  and  modified.  The 
Penal  Code  at  present  resembles  that  of  Germany,  and  is 
equally  self-contradictory;  a revision  is  under  consider- 
ation. ’ ’ 

Switzerland. — “Each  Canton  has  its  own  Penal  Code. 
Several  of  the  more  populous  Cantons  have  tried  Regula- 
tion for  longer  or  shorter  periods ; all  but  one  have  aban- 
doned it.  The  exception  is  Geneva,  where  a system  mod- 
elled on  that  of  Paris  is  in  full  force.” 

Russia. — -“The  Regulation  system  was  introduced  in 
1844,  and  is  still  in  force ; important  protests  are  being 
raised  against  it.” 

Turkey. — “According  to  a report  dated  1899,  prostitu- 
tion was  stringently  regulated,  and  the  Government  de- 
rived a considerable  revenue  from  it.  No  recent  informa- 
tion is  available.” 

Sweden. — A Regulation  system  of  the  usual  pattern 
is  at  present  in  force  in  the  larger  cities.  Since  1864  any 
person  suffering  from  venereal  disease  is  entitled  to  free 
treatment  in  a public  hospital.  Since  that  time  syphilis, 
which  was  previously  endemic  in  many  localities,  has 
gradually  diminished  in  the  towns  and  has  become  very 
rare  in  the  country  districts.  The  diminution,  however, 
does  not  apply  in  the  two  large  cities — Stockholm  and 
Gothenburg.  Prostitution  is  prohibited  under  the  Penal 
Code.  The  age  of  protection  for  girls  is  15. 

A Royal  Commission  was  appointed  in  1904  and  re- 
ported in  1910.  The  Commission  unanimously  condemns 
the  regulation  of  prostitution,  and  proves  its  failure  by  a 
very  careful  analysis  of  the  official  statistics.  As  preven- 


36 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


tive  measures  it  recommends  further  improvements  in  the 
system  of  free  treatment  and  a campaign  of  moral  educa- 
tion. The  majority  also  recommend  the  adoption  of  cer- 
tain features  of  the  Danish  system,  viz.,  dealing  with  pros- 
titutes as  vagrants,  and  applying  compulsion  to  venereal 
patients  who  neglect  treatment ; from  these  two  recom- 
mendations a minority  of  the  Commission  dissents. 

Holland. — “Kegulation  was  formerly  carried  out  in 
most  of  the  large  towns,  though  it  never  obtained  in  Am- 
sterdam. Forty  years  ago,  prostitution  was  registered  in 
37  towns ; one  by  one  all  these  towns  have  abandoned  it.  In 
1911  an  ‘Act  against  Public  Immorality’  was  passed,  con- 
taining a clause  which  makes  it  a penal  offence  to  encour- 
age or  provide  for  the  immorality  of  others  for  pecuniary 
benefit.  This  makes  brothel-keeping  illegal.  Souteneurs 
are  severely  punished,  and  there  are  stringent  laws  for  the 
protection  of  minors.  Prostitution  is  not  a penal  offence, 
nor  is  the  communication  of  disease.  There  are  no  special 
arrangements;  venereal  diseases  are  received  in  the  hos- 
pitals like  any  others.  The  age  of  protection  for  girls  is 
16.” 

Norway. — “The  Begulation  system  was  in  force  until 
1884.  In  that  year  brothel-keeping  was  prohibited,  and 
in  1887  the  registration  of  prostitutes  was  abolished.  In 
1902  penal  enactments  against  prostitutes  were  repealed. 
Thus  at  present  the  only  laws  on  the  subject  are  enactments 
against  procuration,  brothel-keeping  and  vagrancy.” 

Japan. — “The  old  Koman  status,  in  its  essential  aban- 
don, is  faithfully  reproduced  in  the  licensed  and  wholly 
undisguised  Yoshiwara  of  Tokyo,  which  is  quite  as  much 
a matter-of-fact  feature  of  the  city,  in  spite  of  its  horrid 
commerce  in  girls,  as  its  hotels  and  temples.  The  same 
plan  of  govei'nment  provision  for  ‘regulated’  vice  prevails 


History  of  Regulation 


37 


in  all  Japanese  cities,  and  seems  to  be  regarded  with  quite 
as  much  complacency  as  the  public  parks  and  the  inno- 
cent-looking tea-houses.  The  inmates  are  virtually  the 
galley-slaves  of  lust,  having  been  sold  by  fathers  and 
brothers  to  the  cruel  servitude.”^ 

“In  Nagasaki  the  prostitutes  are  confined  to  their 
brothel  districts,  named  respectively  Mornyama,  Namino- 
hira,  and  Lornachi.  The  public  women  in  the  two  latter 
districts  voluntarily  submitted  themselves  to  medical  exam- 
ination weekly.  At  the  first  inspection  56.8  per  cent  were 
found  affected  with  venereal  disease,  which  showed  the 
necessity  of  the  preventive  measures  being  made  general 
and  compulsory,  more  especially  as  many  of  the  women 
had  suffered  for  months,  even  years,  and  presented  sad 
evidences  of  the  power  of  the  disease.  The  brothels  in 
which  the  women  who  are  inspected  periodically  reside  are 
indicated  to  the  public  by  large  numerals  painted  over 
the  doors. 

“In  the  seventeenth  century  the  Japanese  Government 
set  apart  a special  quarter  in  the  capital  where  all  prosti- 
tutes were  to  live.  The  example  was  gradually  followed 
by  other  cities.  Sanitary  Eegulation  was  introduced  in 
1872  under  European  influence,  and  is  now  carried  out 
with  great  thoroughness.  It  appears,  however,  that  disease 
has  not  diminished  and  that  prostitution  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  segregated  districts.  In  1911  a very  influ- 
ential movement  arose  against  the  whole  system. 

“In  nearly  every  large  Japanese  city  and  town  the 
police  collect  considerable  revenue  annually  from  the  traffic. 
Mr.  David  S.  Spencer,  who  lived  in  Japan  about  thirty 
years,  contributed  an  article  to  ‘Vigilance,’  April,  1913, 

' Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress. — Dr.  James  B. 
Dennis. 


38 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


in  which  he  says:  “In  1909,  Osaka  had  1,948  licensed 
houses  of  prostitution,  in  which  were  9,378  licensed  women, 
and  men  paid  that  year  $2,139,304  to  the  brothels.  That 
means  one  licensed  woman  to  every  38  men  in  Osaka. 
Count  Okuma  says  there  are  50,000  of  these  poor  women 
in  that  empire,  but  it  is  probable  that  this  figure  is  today 
too  low  by  nearly  25,000. 

China. — ‘ ‘ In  China  there  is  no  licensed  immorality ; yet 
a state  of  things  which  is  frankly  acknowledged  in  Japan 
is  simply  an  open  secret  in  among  the  Chinese.  Society  re- 
gards it  with  a sly  frown,  the  Government  prohibits  and 
professes  to  discipline  it ; yet  vice  festers  in  every  city  of 
China  and  presents  some  shamefully  loathsome  aspects. 
The  traffic  in  young  girls,  especially  those  who  may  be  af- 
flicted with  blindness,  is  the  usual  method  of  supphdng 
brothels  with  inmates. 

‘ ‘ The  domestic  slavery  of  the  country  is  mostly  con- ' 
fined  to  the  use  of  purchased  female  children  as  servants, 
who  often  become  concubines  in  the  families  of  their  mas- 
ters, and  are  sold  again  for  this  purpose.  The  most  abomi- 
nable form  of  this  curse  is  the  purchase  of  women  and  girls 
for  transport  to  distant  cities  for  immoral  uses.” — (Quoted 
by  Dr.  Dennis  from  “Forty  Years  in  China,”  by  Jona- 
than Lees.) 

Bayard  Taylor  states  it  is  his  deliberate  opinion  that 
“there  are  some  dark  shadow's  in  human  nature  which  we 
natural  shrink  from  penetrating,”  and  he  says,  “I  have 
made  no  attempt  to  collect  information  of  this  kind;  but 
there  was  enough  in  the  things  which  I could  not  avoid  see- 
ing and  hearing — which  are  brought  almost  daily  to  the 
notice  of  every  foreign  resident — to  inspire  me  with  a pow- 
erful aversion  of  the  Chinese  race. 


Hndia,  China  and  Japan,  1855. 


History  of  Regulation  39 

In  1885  a Committee  was  appointed  in  San  Francisco 
to  report  upon  conditions  in  “Chinatown.”  The  Rev. 
Otis  Gibson,  who  resided  in  China  ten  years,  testified  before 
the  Committee  that  the  women  of  China,  “as  a general 
thing,  are  slaves.  They  are  bought  or  stolen  in  China  and 
brought  here.  They  have  a sort  of  agreement  to  cover  up 
the  slavery  business,  but  it  is  all  a sham.” 

In  their  report  the  Committee  said : ‘ ‘ There  is  a moun- 
tain of  testimony  of  a similar  nature,  all  of  which  might 
properly  be  quoted  here;  but  it  would  be  simply  cumula- 
tive. We  have  shown  that  Chinese  prostitution  exists 
among  us  as  the  basis  of  the  most  abject  and  Satanic  con- 
ception of  human  slavery.  That  it  is  conducted  upon  the 
most  inhuman  principles.  That  our  own  laws  are  success- 
fully invoked  to  shield,  protect  and  foster  it.  That  it  is 
the  source  of  the  most  terrible  pollution  of  the  blood  of  the 
younger  and  rising  generations  among  us,  and  that  it  is 
destined  to  be  the  source  of  contamination  and  hereditary 
diseases  among  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  too  fright- 
ful to  contemplate,  and,  possibly,  already  too  strongly  en- 
trenched as  an  evil  to  be  successfully  modified,  much  less 
eradicated.  ’ ’ 

The  United  States. 

Attempts  to  Introduce  the  License  System. — The 
regulation  of  the  State  towards  the  commercialization  of 
sexual  vice  is,  every  year,  commanding  more  and  more  at- 
tention because  of  its  vital  connection  with  the  moral  and 
physical  health  of  the  people,  and  in  no  part  of  the  world 
is  the  subject  of  more  concern  than  in  the  United  States. 
Public  attention  has  been  awakened  to  the  traffic  in  girls 
and  to  the  bold  effrontery  of  investors  of  capital  to  increase 
their  revenues  from  vicious  enterprises. 

Citizens’  movements  are  starting  up  all  over  the  country 


40 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


to  contend  with  these  evils.  Rescue  Societies  are  broaden- 
ing out  for  education  and  prevention;  Medical  Practition- 
ers are  organizing  in  the  interest  of  better  knowledge  as 
a basis  of  physical  health ; a saner  view  of  the  right  attitude 
of  parents  and  teachers  in  regard  to  the  physiological  facts 
for  children  is  developing,  and  the  literature  of  the  subject 
is  no  longer  left  wholly  to  the  vicious  novelist  or  the  sen- 
sational and  venal  quack  medicine  vender.  At  the  same 
time  there  has  been  an  increasing  tendency  among  certain 
influential  people  of  cities  to  approve  and  urge  the  regula- 
tion by  means  of  so-called  “segregation”  and  compulsory 
medical  supervision,  for  the  presumed  purpose  of  (a) 
checking  the  spread  of  prostitution  over  all  parts  of  the 
cities  and,  (b)  to  lessen  the  spread  of  diseases  attending 
the  practices  of  sexual  vice. 

For  ages  the  problem  has  engaged  the  minds  of  Rulers 
and  Governments.  We  have  had  this  advantage  over  an- 
cient nations,  that  we  may  now  see  what  were  the  effects 
of  the  policy  adopted,  in  different  ages  and  countries,  and 
thus  avoid,  if  we  will,  the  mistakes  made  by  them. 

Especially  instructive  is  the  experience  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, with  the  “Contagious  Diseases  Acts”  (1866-68)  which 
were  supposed  to  eliminate  some  of  the  worst  features  of  a 
license  law,  but  which  adopted  and  enforced  the  essential 
provisions  of  the  regulation  system. 

The  working  of  that  law,  its  effect  upon  the  morals  and 
health  of  the  people  and  the  public  agitation  against  it. 
which  forced  the  Government  to  repeal  it  in  1886,  form  a 
unique  chapter  in  history,  which  ought  to  be  available  to 
American  students  of  social  order,  and  is  therefore  treated 
in  a special  chapter  of  this  work. 

Had  the  system  continued  in  England  unopposed,  or 
had  it  been  triumphant  against  opposition,  it  would  have 


History  of  Regulation 


41 


been  held  as  an  example  for  this  country,  and  would  doubt- 
less have  found  many  advocates  on  the  score  of  expediency. 
Indeed  public  officials,  medical  men  and  others,  in  the 
United  States,  did  approve  and  advocate  the  adoption  of 
similar  measures  while  the  “Contagious  Diseases  Acts” 
were  in  operation. 

In  1876  Dr.  Marion  Sims  submitted  a scheme  to  a large 
meeting  of  the  medical  profession  in  Philadelphia  in  favor 
of  introducing  a law  similar  in  character  to  the  English 
C.  D.  Acts.  This  move  of  Dr.  Sims  had  been  preceded  by 
an  agitation  in  the  course  of  which  Prof.  Gross  delivered 
an  address  to  the  American  Medical  Association  at  De- 
troit, Mich.,  June  3,  1874.  In  that  address  Dr.  Gross  said: 

“The  only  remedy  for  this  evil  (venereal  diseases)  is  the 
licensing  of  prostitution,  a remedy  which  could  not  fail  to  be 
productive  of  vast  good  in  promoting  the  national  health.  One 
very  great  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  practical  operations  of  a 
licensing  law  would  be  the  passing  of  a hill  of  an  entirely  un- 
exceptional character.  Great  judgment  and  care  would  be  nec- 
essary in  the  selection  of  a proper  title.  If  this  be  offensive 
or  too  conspicuous,  it  would  at  once  call  forth  opposition.  My 
opinion  is  that  the  entire  subject  should  be  brought  in,  as  it 
has  been  in  England,  under  the  head  of  the  ‘Contagious  Dis- 
eases Acts,’  a phrase  not  likely  to  meet  with  serious  opposi- 
tion, as  it  would  serve  as  a cloak  to  much  that  would  otherwise 
be  distasteful  to  the  public.  The  word  ‘licensing’  should  not 
be  used  at  all — ‘regulate’  is  better,  but  even  that  has  its  ob- 
jections.’’ 

Dr.  Gross’s  significant  reference  to  the  name  and  man- 
ner of  the  English  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  points  to  the 
obvious  need  of  an  actual  statement  as  to  the  history  and 
working  of  those  Acts,  in  order  that  we  may  be  prepared 
for  similar  movements  in  favor  of  laws  that  are  framed  so 
as  to  “serve  as  a cloak”  to  the  public. 

In  New  York  legislation  was  adopted  in  1871,  but  the 


42 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


bill  which  was  passed  failed  to  become  law  because  it  was 
not  signed  by  the  governor.  The  state  committee  on  crime 
reported  in  favor  of  a regulation  law  in  1876  and  the 
grand  jury  of  New  York  City  made  a presentment  in  favor 
of  it. 

In  1877  a committee  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  by 
a majority  of  its  number,  recommended  a license  law.  They 
said:  “The  Committee  are  willing  to  take  upon  them- 
selves to  recommend  the  regulating  or  permitting  or.  If 
the  word  be  not  deemed  offensive,  the  ‘licensing’  of  pros- 
titution. . . . As  to  the  terms,  the  Committee  are  not 

tenacious.  If  anybody’s  conscience  can  be  soothed,  his 
moral  doubts  assuaged,  by  dropping  the  word  ‘license’ 
and  using  the  word  ‘regulation,’  the  Committee  have  no 
earthly  objections,  but  that  the  objection  to  the  substance 
of  the  proposition  is  an  ill-founded  one  we  cannot  doubt.’’ 

St.  Louis. — Another  attempt  to  copy  the  English  sys- 
tem in  the  United  States  was  made  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  We  cannot  obtain  a better  view  of  that  experiment 
than  by  quoting  from  a letter  written  to  the  British  “Medi- 
cal Enquirer’’  by  Dr.  W.  G.  Eliot,  President  of  Washing- 
ton University,  dated  April  14,  1879.  Dr.  Eliot  says: 

“In  1869  the  system  of  ‘Regulation'  was  introduced  here, 
and  was  in  full  force  until  1874,  with  all  the  usual  results, — a 
plausible  show  of  superficial  benefits,  with  deep  and  increasing 
demoralization,  and  demonstrable  increase  of  disease.  Then,  by 
strong  effort,  after  carrying  the  case  through  the  Courts,  which 
sustained  the  legality  of  the  ordinance,  the  State  Legislature 
repealed  them.  But  the  laws  were  left  in  a ‘muddled’  condi- 
tion, and  an  organized,  persistent  effort  was  begun  for  re-en- 
actment of  the  law.  The  attempt  came  in  shape  of  an  Amend- 
ment to  the  City  Charter,  to  be  voted  on  by  the  people  at  a 
special  election.  The  vote  was  three  to  two  against  the  Amend- 
ment. 

“But  as  it  was  evident  that  renewed  effort  would  be  made. 


43 


History  of  Regulation 

the  case  was  co-incidently  carried  before  the  Legislature  by 
petition  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  citizens,  among  whom  were 
the  Archbishop  and  Bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the 
large  majority  of  Protestant  clergy,  and  many  leading  physi- 
cians and  lawyers.  No  local  legislation  sanctioning,  permitting, 
recognizing,  or  regulating  prostitution  can  now  take  place,  un- 
der any  pretence  whatever. 

“Through  the  whole  contest,  English  example  of  the  C.  D. 
Acts  have  been  the  greatest  obstacles  we  have  had  to  overcome.” 

Mr.  Aaron  M.  Powell,  speaking  of  the  St.  Louis  experi- 
ment tells  us  that  “a  German  municipal  office-holder  was 
deputed  to  visit  Europe,  to  familiarize  himself  with  the 
regulation  laws  there.”  Under  the  law  referred  to  by  Dr. 
Eliot,  St.  Louis  “was  divided  into  six  districts,  with  one 
medical  examiner  to  each.  Each  examiner  was  required 
to  visit  the  houses  and  apartments  of  prostitutes,  to  make 
inquiries,  and,  if  he  thought  necessary,  physical  examina- 
tions. . . . The  keepers  of  licensed  houses  were  re- 

quired to  pay  a tax  of  ten  dollars  a month,  and  one  dollar 

“Referring  to  these  conditions  in  St.  Louis,  a committee  of 
one  hundred  (1903)  in  presenting  a memorial  to  the  Board  of 
Police  Commissioners  of  that  city,  opens  its  brief  with  the  fol- 
lowing statement:  “More  than  twenty-five  years  ago  St.  Louis 
had  a segregated  district  in  which  vice  was  licensed  by  law 
and  where  the  keeper  of  a house  of  prostitution  displayed  her 
name  over  her  place  of  business  and  solicited  her  trade  like 
any  other  merchant.  But  this  was  in  the  day  when  unenlight- 
ened men  thought  that  public  prostitution  was  a ‘necessary 
evil’  not  only  to  he  recognized  but  to  be  licensed  and  regulated 
by  the  state. 

“This  shameful  partnership  between  law  and  crime,  be- 
tween government  and  lust  was  many  years  ago  dissolved  not 
only  in  this  city  but  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

“In  place  of  a licensed  social  evil  St.  Louis,  like  many  other 
cities,  substituted  a ‘tolerated’  district.  Under  the  scheme  of 
‘toleration’  the  entire  traffic  is  illegal  and  the  keepers  and  in- 
mates of  bawdy  houses  are  criminals  before  the  law,  but  the 
police,  for  effective  administrative  purposes,  as  they  aver,  ‘tol- 
erate’ or  ‘wink  at’  such  offenses  as  are  committed  within  the 
boundaries  of  a district  which  they  have  set  apart  for  this  traf- 
fic.” 


44 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


a week  for  each  prostitute  therein;  each  prostitute  paying 
fifty  cents  a week.  . . . The  sequel  during  the  progress 

of  the  experiment  proved  an  increase  of  3-4  per  cent  in 
the  number  of  brothels,  and  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
registered  women  of  more  than  35  per  cent.  There  was  an 
undoubted  increase  of  clandestine  prostitution.”*^  Mr. 
Powell  quotes  Dr.  Eliot  as  to  the  sanitary  results  as  fol- 
lows: “What  is  still  more  startling,  when  the  stamping 
out  process  is  examined,  it  appears  that  while  the  number 
of  diseased  women  under  treatment  in  1871  was  38  out  of 
480,  or  3.75  per  cent,  it  has  risen  now  to  an  average  of  40 
out  of  653,  or  6 per  cent.  Showing  the  remarkable  fact — 
to  which,  however,  we  have  a parallel  in  Paris  itself — that 
even  among  the  registered  and  regularly-inspected  prosti- 
tutes the  hateful  disease  may  increase.” 

Chicago. — A vigorous  effort  was  made  in  1871-2  to 
introduce  the  regulation  system  into  this  city.  This  was 
met  by  an  effective  opposition,  and  two  years  later,  some 
physicians  revived  the  effort.  Again  vigorous  opposition 
was  offered  and  an  able  advocate  was  found  in  Dr.  An- 
drews, who  published  a pamphlet  giving  the  results  of  such 
legislation  in  Europe  and  elsewhere.  An  effective  blow  to 
this  effort  to  bring  the  system  into  Chicago  was  dealt  by 
a State  law  which  passed  the  legislature  in  1874  by  a vote 
of  115  to  6.  This  act  provided  that  “it  shall  be  unlawful 
for  the  corporate  authorities  of  any  city,  town,  or  village 
in  this  State  to  grant  a license  to  any  person,  male  or  fe- 
male, to  keep  what  is  known  as  a house  of  ill-fame  or 
house  of  prostitution.” 

The  Nation  Swungs  Backwards. — It  seems  strange  that 
in  the  most  progressive  country  in  the  world  there  should 
be  found  individuals  and  organizations  who  persistently 


’ “State  Regulation  of  Vice,”  pp.  65,  66. 


History  of  Regulation 


45 


advocate  a policy  which  has  proved  so  disastrous  in  every 
country  where  it  has  been  tried. 

It  has  been  our  boast  that  hitherto  we  have  not  legal- 
ized the  license  system,  as  applied  to  prostitution,  by  any 
state  law  in  the  Union.  But  in  New  York  state  an  act  was 
passed  in  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1910  under  the 
title  of  the  Inferior  Courts  Act.  Clause  79  of  that  Act 
provided  that — 

“On  and  after  the  first  day  of  September,  1910,  any  person 
who  is  a vagrant,  as  defined,  etc.,  shall  alter  conviction  be  taken 
to  a room  adjacent  to  the  court  room,  and  there  be  physically 
examined  by  a woman  physician  of  the  Department  of  Health 
detailed  for  such  purpose. 

“After  such  examination,  the  physician  making  the  same 
shall  promptly  prepare  and  sign  a written  report  to  the  court 
of  the  prisoner’s  physical  condition,  and  if  it  thereby  appears 
that,  the  prisoner  is  afflicted  with  any  VENEREAL  DISEASE, 
which  is  contagious,  infectious  or  communicable,  the  magistrate 
shall  commit  her  to  a public  hospital  having  a ward  or  wards 
for  the  treatment  of  the  disease  with  which  she  is  aflSicted, 
FOR  DETENTION  AND  TREATMENT  for  a minimum  period 
fixed  by  him  in  the  commitment,  and  for  a maximum  period  of 
NOT  MORE  THAN  ONE  YEAR.” 

The  purpose  of  this  clause  is  entirely  hidden  from 
view  in  the  title,  as  is  the  custom  of  advocates  of  this 
system. 

The  clause  did  not  provide  for  the  treatment  of  dis- 
ease as  such,  but  for  the  examination  and  compulsory 
holding  of  women  who  are  prostitutes,  or,  to  use  the  terms 
of  the  Act,  “any  person  who  is  a vagrant  as  defined”  etc., 
and  “the  magistrate  shall  commit  her”  for  treatment  of 
“the  disease  with  which  she  if  afflicted”  and  if  cured  ‘‘she 
shall  be  discharged,”  etc. 

Thus,  according  to  a statutory  law  of  the  great  state  of 
New  York,  in  the  year  1910,  it  was  made  a crime  for  a 


46 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


prostitute  to  be  out  of  health  but  no  such  provision  was 
made  against  her  male  consorts.  The  law  said,  in  effect, 
to  every  fallen  woman:  “You  are  guilty  of  no  crime 
against  the  state  if  you  pursue  your  trade  under  conditions 
prescribed  by  the  law.” 

There  is  still  a set  purpose  on  the  part  of  many  to  main- 
tain a form  of  registration  for  medical  examination  of 
women.  In  number  10,  Vol.  27,  March  8,  1912,  of  the  Pub- 
lic Health  Reports,  Congress  published  an  account  of  the 
Fifth  International  Sanitary  Conference  of  American  Re- 
publics. One  of  the  resolutions  adopted  at  that  Conference 
and  printed  in  the  Congressional  Document  reads  thus : 

“(10)  Resolved,  That  the  regulation  of  prostitution  in  cities 
and  especially  in  seaports,  is  recommended;  said  regulation  to 
be  in  the  hands  of  physicians  especially  prepared  for  this  kind 
of  work,  the  necessary  examinations  to  be  carried  out  in  fully 
equipped  dispensaries,  and  where  possible,  sufficient  power  con- 
ferred to  confine  in  hospital  those  liable  to  transmit  venereal 
diseases." 

The  proposal  herein  is  identical  in  purpose  with  the 
English  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  of  1866-8.  In  one  form 
or  another  this  proposal  is  constantly  being  submitted  to 
public  influential  bodies  for  approval.  The  danger  of  it 
lies  in  its  apparent  beneflcial  hygienic  purpose.  The  ad- 
vocates of  it  hide  the  fact  that  its  operation  is  only  con- 
templated in  regard  to  women  as  a part  of  a system  of 
“regulation  of  prostitution,”  which  offers  a false  security 
to  frequenters  of  immoral  houses — and  always  fails  because 
it  does  not  reach  the  male  offenders  who  convey  the  disease 
to  innocent  persons. 

A few  years  ago  a strong  wave  of  public  sentiment 
arose  in  favor  of  segregation  but  the  education  which  at- 
tended the  work  of  various  societies,  through  lectures  and 


History  of  Regulation 


47 


literature,  and  the  almost  unanimous  condemnation  of  it 
in  the  numerous  Vice  Commission  inquiries,  have  greatly 
dispelled  the  errors  of  such  a policy.  Practically  no  city 
in  the  United  States  is  now  prepared  to  adopt  it. 


So  far  as  we  know,  every  vice  commission  in  this  country 
has  unanimously  rejected  it  (segregation)  as  we  do  now.  It  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  licensed  vice.  The  people  of  Phila- 
delphia may  not  know  how  to  deal  with  prostitution,  but  of  one 
thing  we  are  sure,  they  are  not  going  to  say  “it  Is  all  right  if 
confined  to  certain  localities.”  Some  speak  of  “The  Social  Evil,” 
and  lay  the  emphasis  on  the  word  “social”;  we  lay  it  on  the 
word  "evil.” 

When  anything  is  proposed  to  check  or  reduce  the  social 
evil  some  one  always  inquires,  what  is  to  become  of  these 
women?  We  frankly  answer  at  the  outset  that  we  do  not  know. 
Provision  can  be  made  for  all  who  desire  to  abandon  the  life. 
But  we  ask  some  other  questions  by  way  of  reply.  Here  Is  a 
trade  in  which  several  thousand  women  are  engaged  in  this 
city.  It  is  admitted  by  every  one  to  be  immoral  and  illegal,  but 
waiving  all  questions  of  morality  or  legality,  it  is  disease  breed- 
ing; it  is  ruining  the  lives — the  physical  lives — nf  men  and 
women  and  unborn  children.  Several  hundred  of  these  unfortunate 
people  in  this  city  will  die  this  year,  and,  if  nothing  is  attempted, 
their  ranks  will  be  recruited  from  others  as  yet  untainted,  in 
order  to  supply  the  demand  next  year  and  the  years  following. 
Is  it  rational  that  no  effort  should  be  made  to  abate  this  hideous 
evil  because  no  one  can  tell  just  what  is  to  become  of  the 
present  lot  of  prostitutes?  Are  the  health  and  the  morals  of 
the  coming  generation  to  be  ruined  because  one  is  unable  to 
find  another  place  for  those  whose  health  and  morals  are  al- 
ready gone?  To  ask  these  questions  is  to  answer  them. — Report 
of  the  Vice  Commission  of  Philadelphia,  1913. 


“Sophistical  defences  all  vanish  in  the  clear  day- 
light of  truth.  When  a sale  is  hideously  unnatural, 
intrinsically  unlawful,  productive  of  cruel  miseries  to 
soul  and  body,  the  purchaser  also  is  guilty, — and  here 
is  thrice  guilty,  beyond  the  seller;  because  he  is  seeking 
for  carnal  pleasure  only;  she  can  have  no  pleasure,  but 
much  rather  misery,  and  is  in  quest  of  money  only;  nay, 
of  the  poorer  women  we  may  say,  they  are  in  quest 
of  a bare  livelihood  only.  The  fine  flaunting  courtesans 
who  are  carried  away  by  vanity,  and  obtain  high  prices 
from  rich  profligate  men,  less  deserve  our  pity  in  their 
present  phase  of  life ; only  that  we  know  them  to  be  on 
the  fatal  slope  down  which  a large  number  of  them  will 
be  carried,  when  the  men  who  have  bought  them,  one 
by  one,  abandon  them,  each  justifying  himself  by  the 
large  sums  which  he  has  paid ! What,  then,  will  a 
thoughtful  man  say  is  the  legitimate  price  of  virtue? 
Either  virtue  is  empty  talk  or  it  is  above  all  price.  If 
any  hardened  man  hold  virtue  to  be  mere  talk,  stern 
fact  replies,  that  at  least  vice  is  a hideous  fiend,  a sub- 
stantial and  terrible  reality,  and  its  propagators  are 
agents  of  cruelty.” — The  late  Mrs.  Josephine  E.  Butler. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

“What  is  the  history  of  Fantine?  It  is  society  buying  a 
slave!  From  whom?  From  misery,— -from  cold, — from  loneli- 
ness,— from  abandonment, — from  privation.  Melancholy  barter! 
A soul  for  a bit  of  bread!  Misery  makes  this  offer, — society 
accepts. 

“The  holy  law  of  Jesus  Christ  governs  our  civilization,  but 
it  does  not  yet  permeate  it.  It  is  said  that  slavery  has  disap- 
peared from  European  civilization.  That  is  a mistake.  It  still  ex- 
ists,— but  it  weighs  now  only  upon  woman,  and  it  is  called  pros- 
titution. It  weighs  upon  woman, — that  is  to  say,  upon  grace, 
upon  feebleness,  upon  beauty,  upon  maternity.  This  is  not  one 
of  the  least  of  man’s  shames.”  Les  Miserables.  Book  V,  Chap- 
ter II. 

The  traffic  in  women  and  girls  for  the  market  of  vice 
is  the  most  degrading  and  enslaving  of  all  the  features  of 
the  regulation  system.  That  an  actual  Slave-market  should 
exist,  organized  and  capitalized,  with  inter-state  and  inter- 
national exchanges,  involving  the  liberty,  honor,  and  life 
of  thousands  of  girls,  is  the  most  monstrous,  the  most  in- 
credible, and  yet  the  most  notorious  of  all  the  crimes  of 
the  age. 

The  Encyclopedia  Britannica  remarks  that  “though  it 
may  co-exist  with  national  vigor,  its  extravagant  develop- 
ment is  one  of  the  signs  of  a rotten  and  decaying  civiliza- 
tion— a place  which  has  already  marked  the  decadence  of 
nations.  ’ ’ 

The  term  “White  Slavery”  is  not  of  American  origin, 
as  is  sometimes  said,  or  of  so  recent  a date,  as  is  supposed. 
It  has  come  into  general  use,  distinguishing  the  evil  from 
that  condition  of  human  barter  that  so  long  prevailed, 
known  as  “negro  slavery.” 


50 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Mr.  Seligman,  in  his  report  of  “The  Social  Evil”  at- 
tributes the  use  of  the  term  to  Victor  Hugo  and  also  refers 
to  the  use  of  it  by  the  English  labor  leaders  “to  designate 
the  condition  of  factory  operatives  in  Great  Britain.  ’ ’ The 
term,  he  says,  “spread  to  the  United  States  where  a work 
on  the  subject  was  published  in  1853.”  Victor  Hugo’s 
use  of  the  term  seems  to  have  dated  from  1870  when  he 
wrote  a letter  to  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler  remarking  that 
“the  slavery  of  black  women  is  abolished  in  America  but 
the  slavery  of  white  women  continues  in  Europe.  ’ ’ 

Sixty  years  ago  girls  were  imported  to  England  for 
the  purpose.  A case  was  tried  in  the  Courts  of  England 
and  the  London  Times  in  an  editorial  on  June  22,  1854, 
thus  broke  the  prevailing  silence  of  the  press  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Social  Evil. 

“Surely  the  mind  of  a man,  however  profligate,  must 
revolt  at  the  idea  of  entering  a mere  warehouse  of  brutal 
passion,  in  which  women  are  bought  and  sold  like  cattle 
in  Smithfield  market.  The  thing  has  attained  the  dimen- 
sions of  a regular  trade.  Some  villain — generally  a for- 
eigner— chooses  a proper  situation  for  an  establishment 
of  this  kind;  he  has  his  agents  and  his  correspondents 
abroad ; he  directs  them  to  look  out,  generally  in  France 
or  Belgium,  for  such  young  women  as  are  best  adapted  to 
his  purpose,  and  that  purpose  is  nothing  less  than  to  make 
his  profit  out  of  their  prostitution.  Such  a person  was 
the  defendant  in  the  case  tried  the  daj^  before  yesterday 
in  the  Common  Pleas.  The  girls  imported  by  him,  are, 
from  the  moment  they  are  consigned  to  him,  completely 
within  his  power.  In  a strange  country,  ignorant  of  the 
language  and  of  the  customs  of  the  place,  unable  to  find 
their  way  from  one  street  to  another,  they  are  entirely  at 
his  mercy.  His  method  of  dealing  with  them  appears  to 


White  Slave  Traffic 


51 


be  this : In  the  first  place,  they  are  bound  to  pay  him  so 
much  a week  for  board  and  lodging.  Then,  they  must 
give  up  one-half  of  all  the  money  they  receive  from  the 
visitors  of  the  house.  Then,  any  article  of  clothing  they 
may  desire,  or  of  which  they  may  stand  in  absolute  need — 
any  purchase  they  may  wish  to  make,  must  pass  absolutely 
through  his  hands.  All  these  items  of  expenditure  are  de- 
frayed from  the  moiety  of  the  receipts  which  the  unfor- 
tunate , girls,  ostensibly,  are  allowed  to  consider  their 
own.”^ 

The  Times  Editorial  shows  that  the  methods  adopted 
then  were  the  same  as  still  prevail  in  this  hellish  business. 

On  June  12th,  1913,  there  was  published  from  Scotland 
Yard,  London,  an  official  Report  of  the  Second  Interna- 
tional Conference  on  the  White  Slave  Traffic  held  in  Paris, 
August,  1910. 

Referring  to  the  use  of  the  term  “White  Slavery”  this 
Report  says:  “In  America  the  term  ‘commercialized  vice’ 
is  more  commonly  used,  but  this  is  scarcely  a happy  expres- 
sion except  in  so  far  as  it  includes  prostitution  of  all  kinds 
when  practised  for  purpose  of  gain.  It  is  perhaps  difficult 
to  find  any  concise  term  which  represents  exactly  the 
double  signification  of  procuration  and  pecuniary  advan- 
tage to  the  procurer  which  mark  the  essential  features  of 
the  trade  in  women  for  immoral  purposes,  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, better  to  retain  the  well-understood  term  of  White 
Slave  Traffic. 

It  is  well,  however,  to  insist  on  these  two  features  of 
the  traffic,  because  there  is  a tendency,  natural  enough  in 
this  connection,  to  mix  up  the  more  prevalent  and  perhaps 
equally  lamentable  subject  of  prostitution,  with  White 
Slave  Traffic.  The  special  distinguishing  mark  is  the  pro- 


* “The  Great  Social  Evil,”  Logan,  1871. 


52 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


curation  of  girls  for  the  gratification  of  the  passions  of 
others  for  the  profit  of  the  procurer,  rather  than  the  seduc- 
tion of  girls  with  the  motive  of  gratifying  personal  lust 
and  passion.” 

The  Report  further  states  that  at  the  Congress  held  in 
Madrid,  in  1910 : 

‘ ‘ There  was  a consensus  of  opinion  that  the  principal  if 
not  the  only  source  of  White  Slave  Traffic  is  to  be  found 
in  the  ‘State  Regulation  of  Vice,’  as  it  is  termed  in  Eng- 
land, or  as  it  may  perhaps  be  more  fully  described,  the 
recognition  by  the  State  of  prostitution  as  a necessity — an 
evil  which  perhaps  cannot  be  suppressed  but  calls  for  con- 
trol by  registration  and  sanitary  supervision.  This  system 
of  registration  appears  to  exist  in  some  form  or  another  in 
most  countries  except  those  under  the  British  Government. 
It  is  not  proposed  to  enter  in  this  report  into  the  merits 
or  demerits  of  the  question  of  State  regulation.  It  suffices 
to  say  that  since  April  16th,  1886,  in  England  no  form  of 
State  regulation  of  prostitution  has  been  sanctioned.” 

In  1875  Pastor  Borel,  an  ardent  reformer,  and  an  elo- 
quent preacher,  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  published  a stir- 
ring appeal  under  the  title  of  ‘ ‘ The  White  Slavery  of  Eu- 
rope.” In  the  course  of  that  appeal  he  said:  “The  negro 
slave  trade  was  carried  on  by  means  of  abduction  or  war. 
It  tore  individuals  from  their  country  and  homes,  and  con- 
demned them  to  excessive  work  and  cruel  treatment.  The 
White  Slave  Trade  is  carried  on  onlj'^  by  treachery  and 
lying;  and  whilst  it  defiles  the  body,  inoculating  it  with 
terrible  diseases,  it  strikes  a mortal  blow  at  all  that  is  pure 
and  sacred  in  the  soul.  The  procuresses,  who  are  an  in- 
carnation of  the  genius  of  evil,  a monstrous  excrescence 
of  society,  and  the  last  effort  of  vice  to  surpass  itself  in 
what  is  most  odious,  possess  the  keen  scent  of  a wild  beast 


White  Slave  Traffic 


53 


for  its  prey;  they  quickly  discover  the  point  where  their 
hook  will  lay  hold.” 

Pastor  Borel  quotes  fi’om  an  eloquent,  impassioned  plea 
of  a Swiss  lady  of  rank,  Countess  A.  de  Casparin,  who  says : 

“Whilst  there  are  markets  for  it,  there  will  be 

Yes,  I will  write  this  hideous  word;  there  will  be  mer- 
chandise. 

“So  long  as  markets  for  black  slaves  remained  open  in 
Christian  countries,  there  was  black  merchandise  for 
Christians.  So  long  as  slave  markets  continue  to  be  au- 
thorized in  the  East  there  will  be  an  African  slave  trade, 
with  its  turpitudes,  and  its  atrocities,  to  supply  them.  And 
so  long  as  there  is  with  us  a market  for  white  flesh,  there 
will  be  a trade  in  white  slaves  to  sustain  it. 

“Shall  we  any  longer  endure  this?  Shall  we  endure 
in  the  heart  of  Switzerland  these  bastiles  of  prostitution, 
with  their  bolted  doors  and  barred  windows?  If  it  were 
proposed  to  establish  within  our  walls  a house  for  assassi- 
nation, legally  constituted,  organized  and  supervised, 
where  only  those  would  go  who  cut  their  own  throats,  re- 
solving to  destroy  both  soul  and  body,  should  we  consent 
to  it?  Now  what  is  it,  I ask,  that  is  killed  in  these  in- 
famous dens,  in  these  licensed  resorts?  What  is  it,  but  the 
entire  individual,  soul  and  body?” 

Dr.  Hippolyte  Mireur,  of  Marseilles,  a long-time  champ- 
ion of  State  regulation  of  vice,  as  in  operation  in  France, 
shows  that  the  slavery  “barter”  of  which  Victor  Hugo 
speaks  is  regarded  by  all  who  are  concerned  in  the  system, 
as  a door  to  the  bastile  of  slavery  which  ever  swings  in- 
ward, and  from  which  there  is  no  escape,  until  death  re- 
moves the  victim.  He  says: 

“The  system  of  registration  which  regulates  and  legal- 
izes the  sorrowful  industry  of  the  prostitute,  is,  in  fact,  the 


54 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


sinister  stroke  by  which  women  are  cut  off  from  society, 
and  after  which  they  no  longer  belong  to  themselves,  but 
become  merely  the  chattel  of  the  Administration.  They 
are  cut  off  not  from  society,  but  from  heaven,  from  hope, 
and  from  the  power  to  repent.  ’ ’ 

M.  Lanaers,  Chief  of  Police  at  Brussels,  officially  re- 
ported- in  1887  that  women  are  subjected  to  obligations 
without  number;  “they  are  forced,  so  to  speak,  to  give 
themselves  up  to  the  first  comer,  however  deep  their  repug- 
nance to  him  may  be ; they  are  compelled  to  incur  heavy 
expenses  and  to  submit  themselves  to  the  yoke  of  the  keep- 
ers of  the  houses;  their  liberty  of  action  is  exceedingly 
limited ; they  must  never  be  seen  at  the  door  or  windows  of 
the  house;  they  scarcely  ever  go  out,  and  then  always  un- 
der the  escort  of  the  mistress;  in  a word,  they  possess  only 
that  amount  of  independence  which  the  mistress  chooses  to 
grant  them,  and  the  mistresses  extend  or  control  this  in- 
dependence according  as  it  suits  their  own  interests,  and 
without  any  reference  to  the  will  or  preference  of  the 
women.  ’ ’ 

Loaded  as  Cattle  in  France. — In  1876,  Mrs.  Josephine 
Butler  made  one  of  those  eloquent  appeals  for  which  she 
was  famous,  in  the  following  thrilling  passage : ‘ ‘ Wherever 
there  is  a slavery  there  must  be  a slave  trade,  because  you 
need  slaves  to  fill  up  the  market ; women  are  sent  from  one 
country  to  another  as  slaves,  bought  and  sold,  morals 
policemen  sometimes  going  with  them  and  taking  their 
tickets.  At  Liege  two  trucks  (cars)  were  found  at  the  rail- 
way station  crowded  with  young  girls, — quite  young,  many 
of  them  not  more  than  thirteen,  ‘ crowded  like  cattle.  ’ They 
were  under  the  charge  of  one  of  the  policemen  of  the  sys- 
tem. He  was  conveying  them  from  a certain  brothel  in  Liege 
to  hand  them  over  wholesale  to  another  brothel  in  Paris 


White  Slave  Traffic 


55 


(because  these  people  find  it  desirable  to  have  an  exchange 
of  slaves  for  it  secures  variety  to  the  purchasers).  These 
poor  girls  did  not  wish  to  be  taken  to  Paris.  Some  of  them 
perhaps  hoped,  wished,  to  get  free,  and  some  of  them  be- 
gan to  cry,  and  the  infection  spread,  and  they  all  became 
more  or  less  hysterical  and  said  they  would  not  go.  The 
policeman  thereupon  put  manacles  upon  their  hands  and 
fastened  them  behind  their  backs,  and  they  were  thus 
taken  as  slaves  in  chains  from  one  brothel  to  the  other,  in 
Christian  Europe.  This  is  with  the  knowledge  and  permis- 
sion of  the  authorities.”^ 

In  the  same  year,  a pamphlet  was  published  by  the 
“British,  Continental,  and  General  Federation  for  the 
Abolition  of  Government  Kegulation  of  Prostitution  ’ ’ bear- 
ing the  title  of  “The  European  Revolt  against  White 
Slavery.”  This  pamphlet  also  bore  the  name  of  A.  M. 
Powell  of  New  York,  as  the  American  publisher. 

In  1887  a pamphlet  was  published  from  the  pen  of  M. 
Emile  de  Laveleye,  Professor  at  the  University  of  Liege, 
in  which  he  said  that,  ‘ ‘ The  women  of  tolerated  houses  lead 
an  attack  against  those  odious  practices  which  have  lately 
horrified  the  public  of  England  and  Belgium,  and  caused 
an  inquiry  on  the  part  of  the  English  House  of  Lords,  I 
mean  that  which  has  been  justly  called  ‘the  White  Slave 
Trade  ? ’ And  what,  in  point  of  fact,  is  the  function  of  these 
traders  in  human  flesh  but  that  of  providing  material  for 
an  industry  which  our  magistrates  authorize  and  our  doc- 
tors endeavor  to  make  innocuous?” 

Sir  James  Stansfeld,  M.  P.,  who  was  a member  of  Mr. 
Gladstone’s  Cabinet,  spoke  at  the  Geneva  Congress  in  1877. 
In  the  course  of  his  address  he  said:  “You  invent  a 
project  by  which  you — the  State — propose  to  set  aside  a 


‘ Speech  at  Hull,  England,  Oct.,  1876. 


56 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


certain  number  of  women  destined  to  be  the  slaves  and  the 
instruments  of  men’s  lust;  you  propose,  by  your  system  of 
examination,  to  keep  them  in  good  condition ; you  find  that 
you  cannot,  with  all  your  care,  keep  them  in  good  condition. 
Why?  Because  your  whole  conception  is  profoundly  im- 
moral, and  against  nature ; you  have  no  respect  for  the  hu- 
man body;  you  forget  the  soul  within  it;  you  think  of 
making  these  women  serve  men;  you  acknowledge  not  the 
humanity,  the  life,  the  individuality  of  these  poor  instru- 
ments, and  you  fail  because  physical  human  nature  refuses 
to  lend  itself  to  your  plans.  ’ ’ 

The  traffic  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  women,  as  a busi- 
ness for  profit,  did  not  exist  in  America  until  comparative- 
ly recent  years.  Writing  of  the  moral  conditions  of  this 
country  in  1763-1776  Lecky,  the  historian,  remarks  that 
“except  where  slavery  had  exercised  its  demoralizing  in- 
fluences, the  intercourse  between  the  sexes  was  singularly 
free  and  at  the  same  time  singularly  pure.  In  Europe  the 
hideous  commerce  flourished  from  the  middle  ages  and  un- 
der later  police  rule  of  license,  toleration,  and  graft,  was 
operated  by  men  and  sometimes  by  women  who  adopted 
up-to-date  business  methods;  buying,  selling,  exchanging 
and  shipping  “goods,”  just  as  cattle  dealers  do.  Syndi- 
cates were  formed  for  international  trading  and  a vast  in- 
terchange commerce  was  established.  The  “goods”  were 
coaxed,  persuaded  or  captured  for  the  market  according 
to  circumstances. 

United  States  A Rich  ^Iarket. 

European  traffickers,  finding  that  conditions  existed  in 
many  American  cities  which  offered  a specially  rich  market, 
eagerly  sought  our  great  centers,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that 


White  Slave  Traffic 


57 


the  United  States  has  become  the  most  profitable  of  all  the 
world’s  markets  of  human  vice. 

California  Cribs. — Here  is  a statement  made  by  the 
late  Rev.  Sidney  C.  Kendall,  of  conditions  as  he  found 
them  in  Los  Angeles,  and  other  cities  on  the  Western 
coast : 

“1.  There  exists  an  international  commerce  in  maidens, 
organized  and  exploited  on  a large  scale,  operating  in  many 
cities  with  the  connivance  of  the  authorities  and  the  protection 
of  the  police. 

“2.  Its  managers  are  largely  foreigners  with  jaw-breaking 
names  and  heart-breaking  English. 

“3.  Its  wares  are  threefold  (1)  Japanese  girls,  marketed 
mainly  on  the  Pacific  coast,  kept  under  lock  and  key  and  sub- 
jected to  slow  murder  by  continuous  outrage;  (2)  European 
girls,  scarcely  less  helpless  than  the  Japanese,  who  are  pro- 
cured by  employment  agencies,  shipped  to  this  country  in  squads 
and  distributed  through  our  cities,  according  to  the  demands 
of  trade;  (3)  Girls  procured  in  this  country  by  all  means  that 
lust  can  prompt  or  avarice  devise. 

“4.  The  fourth  conclusion  is  that  women'  are  not  the  orig- 
inal offenders  in  the  Social  Evil.  Many  of  them  are  victims  of 
a traffic  that  is  maintained  by  the  lust  and  avarice  of  men. 

“5.  This  market  exists  not  because  the  ungovernable  pas- 
sions of  men  make  it  an  imperative  necessity.  It  exists  be- 
cause there  is  money  in  it.  Its  incentive  is  not  lust,  but  avarice. 

“6.  Men  are  lustful  because  they  have  every  inducement 
to  be  so.  And  the  greatest  inducement  is  the  existence  in  al- 
most every  city  of  the  open  and  public  market  in  women. 

“7.  The  commerce  in  maidens  is  not  a private  vice,  but  a 
public  business,  in  which  great  fortunes  are  made. 

“8.  As  a public  business  it  can  not  continue  without  civic 
recognition  and  certain  public  conveniences,  which  it  can  not  ob- 
tain without  the  passive  consent  of  the  public. 

“9.  In  almost  every  city  there  are  laws  that  would  sup- 
press this  traffic  if  they  were  enforced. 

"10.  These  laws  are  almost  universally  inoperative. 

"11.  They  are  not  enforced  because  the  public  have  not  per- 
sistently demanded  their  enforcement. 


58 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“12.  That  much  of  the  social  evil  that  owes  its  existence 
to  the  non-enforcement  of  law  could  be  abolished  by  the  imper- 
ative demand  of  the  entire  Christian  public.” — Speech  at  La 
Crosse,  Wis.,  October,  1905. 

Mr.  Kendall’s  vigorous  indictments  were  sustained  by 
a mass  of  facts  relating  to  the  horrors  of  the  traffic,  which 
were  perpetrated  in  those  cities,  and  the  revelations  that 
have  since  been  made,  show  that  this  traffic  obtained  a 
hold  in  the  United  States,  so  vast  and  so  vile,  that  it  would 
be  unbelievable,  were  it  not  proven  by  many  unimpeach- 
able witnesses. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Illinois  Vigilance  Asso- 
ciation held  in  Chicago,  February,  1909,  Mr.  James  Bron- 
son Reynolds  said: 

The  status  of  the  white  slave  traffic  is  this:  It  is  a traf- 
fic with  local,  interstate,  national  and  international  ramifica- 
tions. 

It  has  the  complete  outfit  of  a large  business;  large  capi- 
tal, representatives  in  various  countries,  well  paid  agents,  and 
able,  high  salaried  lawyers. 

Its  victims  are  numbered  yearly  by  the  thousands. 

They  include  not  only  the  peasant  girls  of  European  vil- 
lages, but  also  the  farmers'  daughters  of  our  own  country.  Some 
are  uneducated  and  wholly  ignorant;  others  have  enjoyed  good 
education.  While  most  of  them  come  from  the  homes  of  pov- 
erty, occasionally  a child  of  well-to-do  parentage  is  numbered 
among  the  victims. 

The  alert  agents  of  the  tralBc  move  from  place  to  place, 
alluring  peasant  girls  and  farmers’  daughters  from  their  homes, 
entrapping  innocent  victims  at  railway  stations  and  public  re- 
sorts. 

Today  there  is  an  organized  system  of  commerce  in  human 
flesh  between  China  and  Japan  and  this  country,  and  an  organ- 
ized system  of  slavery  in  certain  of  our  coast  states.  After  the 
payment  of  money  for  this  human  property,  title  is  passed  just 
as  for  real  estate,  and  the  alleged  property  rights  are  respected 
by  our  officials. 


White  Slave  Traffic 


59 


Mr.  Reynolds  is  especially  qualified  to  testify  on  this 
subject.  He  investigated  the  traffic  in  Panama,  Japan,  and 
China,  as  well  as  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  of  the 
United  States.  In  other  important  investigations  he  was  a 
special  commissioner  of  former  President  Roosevelt. 

The  “War  on  the  White  Slave  Trade,”  edited  by 
Ernest  A.  Bell,  contains  testimony  of  the  best  authorities 
as  to  the  character  and  extent  of  the  evil  traffic.  The  chap- 
ters by  Mr.  Clifford  G.  Roe,  Mr.  Edwin  Sims,  and  those  by 
Mr.  Harry  A.  Parkin,  Chicago,  mark  the  book  as  an  inval- 
uable record  of  the  facts  of  this  monster’s  grip  on  the 
land,  and  of  the  laws  which  deal  with  it. 

Mr.  Edwin  W.  Sims,  who,  as  the  United  States  District 
Attorney  of  Chicago,  prosecuted  many  of  these  criminal 
traffickers,  said  in  1909 ; 

“The  legal  evidence  thus  far  collected  establishes,  with  com- 
plete moral  certainty,  these  awful  facts:  That  the  white  slave 
traffic  is  a system — which  has  its  ramifications  from  the  Atlan- 
tic seaboard  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  with  clearing  houses  or  dis- 
tributing centers  in  nearly  all  of  the  larger  cities;  that  in  this 
ghastly  traffic  the  buying  price  of  a young  girl  is  $15,  and  that 
the  selling  price  is  generally  about  $200 — if  the  girl  is  especially 
attractive  the  white  slave  dealer  may  be  able  to  sell  her  for 
$400  or  $600;  that  this  syndicate  did  not  make  less  than  $200,- 
000  last  year  in  this  almost  unthinkable  commerce;  that  it  is 
a definite  organization  sending  its  hunters  regularly  to  scour 
France,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy  and  Canada  for  victims;  that 
the  man  at  the  head  of  this  unthinkable  enterprise  is  known 
among  his  hunters  as  The  Big  Chief.” 

Mr.  Sims  tells  the  stories  of  several  typical  cases.  One 
of  these  was  a child  of  fourteen  who  was  “quickly  and  un- 
ceremoniously broken  in.” 

"On  arriving  in  Chicago  she  was  taken  to  the  house  of  ill- 
fame  to  which  she  had  been  sold  by  the  procurer.  There  this 
child  of  fourteen  was  quickly  and  unceremoniously  ‘broken  in’ 


60 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


to  the  hideous  life  of  depravity  for  which  she  had  been  en- 
trapped. The  white  slaver  who  sold  her  was  able  to  drive  a most 
profitable  bargain,  for  she  was  rated  as  uncommonly  attractive. 
In  fact,  he  made  her  life  of  shame  a perpetual  source  of  income, 
and  when — not  long  ago — he  was  captured  and  indicted  for  the 
transportation  of  other  girls,  this  girl  was  used  as  the  agency 
of  providing  him  with  $2,000  for  his  defense. 

“After  she  had  furnished  a night  of  servitude  to  the  brutal 
passions  of  vile  frequenters  of  the  place,  she  was  then  com- 
pelled each  night  to  put  off  her  tawdry  costume,  array  herself 
in  the  garb  of  a scrub-woman  and,  on  her  hands  and  knees, 
scrub  the  house  from  top  to  bottom.  No  weariness,  no  exhaus- 
tion, ever  excused  her  from  this  drudgery,  which  was  a full 
day’s  work  for  a strong  woman. 

“After  her  scrubbing  was  done  she  was  allowed  to  go  to 
her  chamber  and  sleep — locked  in  her  room  to  prevent  her  pos- 
sible escape — until  the  orgies  of  the  next  day,  or  rather  night, 
began.  She  was  allowed  no  liberties,  no  freedom,  and  in  the 
two  and  a half  years  of  her  slavery  in  this  house  she  was  not 
even  given  one  dollar  to  spend  for  her  own  comfort  or  pleas- 
ure. The  legal  evidence  shows  that  during  this  period  of  slavery 
she  earned  for  those  who  owned  her  not  less  than  eight  thou- 
sand dollars — and  probably  ten  thousand  dollars!” 

And  with  his  characteristic  application  of  facts,  Mr. 
Sims  adds: 

“If  this  is  not  slavery,  I have  no  definition  for  it. 

“Let  me  make  it  entirely  clear  that  the  white  slave  is  an 
actual  prisoner.  She  is  under  the  most  constant  surveillance, 
both  by  the  keeper  to  whom  she  is  ‘let’  and  by  the  procurer 
who  owns  her.  Not  until  she  has  lost  all  possible  desire  to 
escape  is  she  given  any  liberty.” 

Clifford  G.  Roe  gives  a number  of  illustrations  of  the 
methods  used  by  these  agents  of  the  vice  market.  He  says : 

“The  panders  make  no  distinction  between  girls  who 
are  innocent,  quiet  and  modest,  and  those  who  are  more 
wayward,  flirtatious  and  frivolous.  The  procuring  of  the 
former  adds  zest  and  sport  to  the  hunt,  while  the  latter  are 


White  Slave  Traffic 


61 


easy  prey  for  them.  Girls  who  flirt  merely  for  the  fun  of 
flirting,  who  go  to  dinners  with  strangers  and  roam  about 
the  streets  at  night,  are  those  who  are  easily  won  by  flattery 
and  the  appeal  to  vanity.  ’ ’ 

Another  volume,"  Panders  and  Their  White  Slaves,” 
which  more  than  eonflrms  the  awful  facts  of  this  traffic, 
comes  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Roe.  It  consists  mainly  of 
stories  of  the  vile  business,  told  from  the  author’s  own  ex- 
perience, as  prosecutor  of  the  law-breakers,  as  assistant 
States  Attorney  of  Chicago.  No  one  can  read  this  volume, 
with  an  open  mind,  without  reaching  a conviction  of  the 
realities  of  the  infernal  traffic  and  a sense  of  horror  fills 
us  that  such  conditions  can  be  possible  in  the  United  States 
without  provoking  a storm  of  public  indignation  and  pro- 
test strong  enough  to  drive  them  into  the  Hades  from 
whence  they  come.  ^ 

The  traffic  thrived  until  its  enormities,  at  length,  awoke 
interest  on  the  part  of  reformers  and  there  followed  able 
articles  in  the  Ladies’  Home  Journal,  The  Woman’s  World, 
McClure’s,  Hampton’s,  Everybody’s,  Pearson’s,  Leslie’s, 
and  others. 

United  States  Investigation  Commission. 

But  of  still  greater  authority  is  the  Report  of  the  Im- 
migration Commission  which  was  presented  to  Congress, 
December  10th,  1909.  The  following  paragraphs  contain 
abundant  proofs  of  one  phase  of  the  traffic,  viz:  the  im- 
portation of  foreign  women  and  girls  for  the  market  of 
vice: 


(1)  Since  the  above  was  written,  Mr.  Clifford  G.  Roe  has 
issued  another  book  which  is  attractively  Illustrated  and  which 
has  already  reached  a large  sale  through  agents  throughout  the 
country. 


62 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Undeniable  Facts  of  Imported  Slaves.— “The  importation 
and  harboring  of  alien  women  and  girls  for  immoral  purposes 
and  the  practice  of  prostitution  by  them — the  so-called  ‘white 
slave  traffic’ — is  the  most  pitiful  and  the  most  revolting  phase 
of  the  immigration  question.  It  is  in  violation  of  the  immigra- 
tion law  and  of  the  treaty  made  with  leading  European  powers. 
This  business  has  assumed  large  proportions  and  it  has  been 
exerting  so  evil  an  influence  upon  our  country  that  the  Immi- 
gration Commission  felt  compelled  to  make  it  the  subject  of  a 
thorough  investigation.  Since  the  subject  is  especially  liable 
to  sensational  exploitation,  it  is  important  that  the  report  be 
primarily  a statement  of  undeniable  facts  w’hich  may  form  a 
basis  of  reasonable  legislative  and  administrative  action  to 
lessen  its  evils.” 

Thousands  Yearly — Profit  is  the  Object. — “To  the  motive 
of  business  profit  is  due  beyond  question  the  impulse  w’hich 
creates  and  upholds  this  traffic.  The  procurers  who  seduce  or 
otherwise  entice  the  women  to  leave  their  foreign  homes,  the 
importers  who  assist  them  in  evading  the  law  or  wffio  bring 
them  into  the  United  States  for  sale,  the  pimps  and  keepers  of 
disorderly  houses  who  exploit  them  body  and  soul,  have  only 
profit  in  view.  The  work  is  strictly  foreign  commerce  for 
profit.”  . . . “In  the  judgment  of  practically  everyone  who 

has  had  an  opportunity  for  careful  judgment,  the  numbers  im- 
ported run  well  into  the  thousands  each  year.” 

Innocent  Girls  Captured. — “Far  more  pitiful,  however,  are 
the  cases  of  the  innocent  girls.  A French  girl  seized  in  a raid 
of  a disorderly  house  in  Chicago  stated  to  the  United  States 
authorities  that  she  was  approached  when  she  was  hut  14  years 
of  age;  that  her  procurer  promised  her  employment  in  America 
as  a lady’s  maid  or  a companion  at  wages  far  beyond  any  that 
she  could  ever  hope  to  get  in  France;  that  she  came  wuth  him 
to  the  United  States,  and  upon  her  arrival  in  Chicago  was  sold 
into  a house  of  ill  fame.” 

A Typical  Case. — “The  testimony  taken  in  a typical  case 
in  Seattle  in  1909  shows  some  of  the  methods  used  in  recruit- 
ing their  victims  by  those  engaged  in  the  traffic.  Flattery,  prom- 
ises of  work,  love-making,  promise  of  marriage  to  a wealthy 
person,  seduction  wuthout  marriage,  kind  treatment  for  a month 
or  two,  then  travel  wuth  the  procurer  as  wife,  continual  decep- 


White  Slave  Traffic 


63 


tion,  then  an  explanation  to  a girl  of  only  17  of  the  life  await- 
ing her,  which  in  her  innocence  she  could  not  understand,  then 
experience  in  a house  of  ill-fame  in  Montreal,  Canada,  then 
personal  brutality,  even  physical  violence,  taking  every  cent  of 
the  hard-earned  money,  transportation  to  Vancouver,  to  Prince 
Rupert,  to  Alaska,  and  to  Seattle,  in  every  city  forced  to  earn 
money  in  a shameful  life,  with  total  earnings  of  more  than 
$2,000,  none  of  which  she  was  able  to  retain.” 

Unspeakable  Consequences. — “This  importation  of  women 
for  immoral  purposes  has  brought  into  the  country  evils  even 
worse  than  those  of  prostitution.  In  many  instances  the  pro- 
fessionals who  come  have  been  practically  driven  from  their 
lives  of  shame  in  Europe  on  account  of  their  loathsome  dis- 
eases; the  conditions  of  vice  obtaining  there  have  even  low- 
ered the  standard  of  degradation  of  prostitution  formerly  cus- 
tomary here.  Unnatural  practices  are  brought  largely  from  Con- 
tinental Europe,  and  the  ease  and  apparent  certainty  of  profit 
has  led  thousands  of  our  younger  men,  usually  those  of  for- 
eign birth  or  the  immediate  sons  of  foreigners,  to  abandon  the 
useful  arts  of  life  to  undertake  the  most  accursed  business  ever 
devised  by  man. 

“This  traffic  has  intensified  all  the  evils  of  prostitution 
which,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  cause,  through  the  infection 
of  innocent  wives  and  children  by  dissipated  husbands  and 
through  the  mental  anguish  and  moral  indignation  aroused  by 
marital  unfaithfulness,  has  done  more  to  ruin  homes  than  any 
other  single  cause. 

“This  statement  of  the  conditions  found  by  the  agents  of 
the  commission  may  seem  strong.  The  more  detailed  state- 
ments of  the  facts,  with  evidence  upon  which  they  are  made, 
will  show  that  the  picture  is  not  painted  in  too  dark  colors  and 
will  make  evident  the  necessity  of  remedial  legislation  to  check 
the  traffic,  which,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  one  thing,  is  a 
disgrace  to  American  civilization.” 

System  of  Exploitation. — “Most  pitiful  for  the  women,  and 
most  brutal  oH  the  part  of  the  men,  are  the  methods  employed 
for  exploiting  these  women  imported  contrary  to  law,  both  those 
coming  willingly  to  lead  a vicious  life  and  those  lured  into  the 
country  as  innocent  girls  by  deception  and  by  their  affections. 

“With  rare  exceptions  not  only  the  innocent  women  imported 


64 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


into  this  country,  but  the  prostitutes  as  well,  are  associated 
with  men  whose  business  it  is  to  protect  them,  direct  them,  and 
control  them,  and  who  frequently,  if  not  usually,  make  it  their 
business  to  plunder  them  unmercifully.  The  procurer  or  the 
pimp  may  put  his  woman  into  a disorderly  house,  sharing  prof- 
its with  the  madam.  He  may  sell  her  outright;  he  may  act 
as  an  agent  for  another  man;  he  may  keep  her,  making  ar- 
rangements for  her  hunting  men.  She  must  walk  the  streets 
and  secure  her  patrons,  to  be  exploited,  not  for  her  own  sake 
but  for  that  of  her  owner.  Often  he  does  not  tell  her  even  his 
real  name.  She  knows  his  haunts,  where  she  may  send  him 
word  in  case  of  arrest.  She  knows  the  place  given  her  to  which 
she  must  come  every  night  and  give  him  all  her  earnings.  She 
must  deny  her  importation,  must  lie  regarding  her  residence, 
her  address,  and  the  time  she  has  been  in  the  country.  If  she 
tries  to  leave  her  man,  she  is  threatened  with  arrest.  If  she 
resists,  she  finds  all  the  men  about  her  leagued  against  her; 
she  may  be  beaten;  in  some  cases  when  she  has  betrayed  her 
betrayer  she  has  been  murdered.” 

In  reading  these  statements  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in 
mind  that  they  are  the  testimony  of  government  investiga- 
tors who  by  their  official  life  are  naturally  cautious  and 
conservative. 

The  realism  of  the  following  picture  drawn  from  an- 
other conservative  official  document  rivals  any  condition 
ever  revealed  of  the  auction  marts  of  negro  slavery  in  its 
worst  days. 

“An  absolutely  new  number — tall,  handsome  of  figure  and 
body,  20  years  and  6 months  old.  She  wants  to  earn  money. 

"The  brother  of  Antoine  and  Pierre,  nicknamed,  ‘dealers  in 
live  stock.’  I do  not  want  to  ask  any  favors  of  them;  they  are 
great  rascals. 

“A  woman  the  like  of  whom  you  can  never  find;  young, 
beautiful,  most  * * * and  who  fully  decided  to  leave.  You  can 
well  understand  I gave  them  a song  and  dance.  * * * Without 
praising  her  highly,  she  is  as  beautiful  as  it  is  possible  to  find 
in  this  world,  and  I hope  she  will  serve  your  purpose  well. 
* * * I will  send  you  her  photograph.  Her  beautiful  teeth  alone 
are  worth  a million.” — Senate  Document  No.  196,  Dec.  10,  1909. 


White  Slave  Traffic 


65 


Enormous  Business  in  1908.  In  February,  1909,  a 
second  report  was  issued  by  the  Commissioner  of  Immigra- 
tion. This  report  stated  that  ‘ ‘ an  enormous  business  is  con- 
stantly being  transacted  in  the  importation  and  distribu- 
tion of  foreign  women  for  purposes  of  prostitution,  which 
business  also  includes  the  seduction  and  distribution  of 
alien  women  and  girls  who  have  entered  the  country  in  a 
regular  manner  for  legitimate  purposes,  and  to  some  extent 
of  American  women  and  girls.” 

Eight  Hundrded  Men  Lived  on  the  Earnings  of  Girls 
IN  Seattle. — U.  S.  District  Attorney,  Elmer  E.  Todd  of 
Seattle,  Washington,  summarized  the  report  of  the  Federal 
Grand  Jury  in  May,  1909,  as  follows : ‘ ‘ There  are  between 
seven  and  eight  hundred  men  in  Seattle  who  live  from  the 
revenue  from  the  “white  slave”  traffic,  almost  all  of  whom 
could  be  reached  by  the  State  courts  if  proper  effort  were 
made.  It  was  established  by  the  Grand  Jury  that  the  Fed- 
eral Government  had  gone  as  far  as  the  law  allows.  It  is 
now  up  to  the  State  authorities,  who  could  break  up  this 
business  in  short  order.  ’ ’ 

The  Cadet  System. — Very  active  agents  are  employed 
under  the  name  of  “cadets”  incidental  to  and  a part  of 
the  white  slave  traffic.  From  the  report  of  the  “Com- 
mittee of  Fourteen  ’ ’ we  learn  that,  ‘ ‘ The  conditions  under 
which  the  business  of  the  social  evil  is  carried  on  in  this 
city  of  New  York  require  the  services  of  both  the  ‘cadet’ 
and  of  the  ‘pimp,’  and  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  distinc- 
tion between  them  carefully  in  mind.  According  to  the  ac- 
cepted meaning  of  the  word  the  ‘ cadet  ’ is  the  procurer  who 
keeps  up  the  supply  of  women  for  immoral  houses.  By 
various  means,  ‘giving  the  girls  a good  time,’  force,  fake 
marriages,  entrapments,  threats  of  bodily  harm,  seduction, 
fraud  and  duplicity — he  leads  women  to  become  prostitutes. 


66 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


The  ‘pimp’  or  protector  is  generally  selected  by  a wom- 
an after  she  has  become  a prostitute.  She  voluntarily  gives 
him  more  or  less  of  her  earnings,  and  in  return  he  uses  all 
the  methods  in  his  power,  political,  physical  and  financial, 
to  protect  her  while  she  is  soliciting  on  the  street  or  when 
she  is  arrested  and  needs  bail  or  fines  paid. 

“Where  prostitution  is  highly  commercialized  and  the 
demand  artificially  stimulated  for  the  profit  of  those  not  di- 
rectly involved,  women  alone  do  not  conduct  the  business 
of  prostitution.  Not  enough  of  them  are  willing  to  become 
professional  prostitutes,  so  the  ‘cadet’  must  procure  them 
by  breaking  down  the  natural  safeguards  which  keep  them 
from  such  a life.  There  is  not  sufficient  natural  demand 
for  them,  so  the  protector  must  protect  them  in  their  com- 
petition, find  patrons  for  them  and  for  disorderly  houses, 
and  stand  between  them  and  the  business  interests  that 
prey  on  their  earnings  and  frustrate,  as  far  as  possible, 
any  efforts  to  lessen  the  evils  by  means  of  prosecu- 
tions. ” . 

The  New  York  Grand  Jury  Report. — Stronger  indict- 
ment of  the  existing  evils  could  be  hardly  looked  for  from 
a body  appointed  and  publicly  announced,  as  was  the 
Grand  Jury  of  New  York,  of  which  John  D.  Rockefeller, 
Jr.,  was  Chairman.  The  report  says : 

"Owing  to  the  publicity  given  to  the  inquiry  at  its  incep- 
tion, it  has  been  difficult  to  get  legal  evidence  of  the  actual 
purchase  and  sale  of  women  for  Immoral  purposes,  and  our  in- 
vestigators have  been  informed  in  different  quarters  that  a num- 
ber of  formerly  active  dealers  in  women  had  either  temporarily 
gone  out  of  business  or  had  transferred  their  activities  to  other 
cities.  However,  five  self-declared  dealers  in  women  had  agreed 
upon  various  occasions  to  supply  women  to  our  agents,  hut  be- 
cause of  their  extreme  caution  and  the  fear  aroused  by  the  con- 
tinued sitting  of  this  grand  jury,  these  promises  were  fulfilled 
in  only  two  instances,  in  each  of  which  two  girls  were  secured 


White  Slave  Traffic 


67 


for  our  agents  at  a price,  in  the  one  case  of  PO  each  and  in 
the  other  of  $75  each.  Indictments  have  been  found  against 
these  two  persons;  one  pleaded  guilty  and  the  other  was  con- 
victed on  trial.” 

Much  misunderstanding  became  current  in  the  public 
mind  because  of  newspaper  headlines  that  this  report 
found  “No  White  Slavery  in  New  York,”  and  these  head- 
lines were  based  upon  the  first  paragraph  of  the  Report 
which  stated: 

“We  have  found  no  evidence  of  the  existence  in  the  County 
of  New  York  of  any  organization  or  organizations,  incorporated 
or  otherwise,  engaged  as  such  in  the  traffic  in  women  for  im- 
moral purposes,  nor  have  we  found  evidence  of  an  organized 
traffic  in  women  for  immoral  purposes.” 

But,  as  Colonel  Bingham  says,  in  Hampton’s  Maga- 
zine, November,  1910 : 

“Of  course  the  white-slave  dealers  have  no  international 
formal  or  incorporated  business  organization.  There  could  be 
none  in  the  very  nature  of  things;  but,  as  the  grand  jury  said, 
there  is  international  traffic  carried  on  by  individuals.  This 
was  established  beyond  a reasonable  doubt  by  the  investiga- 
tion started  by  the  congressional  commission.  This  congres- 
sional investigation  showed  that  there  was  a connected  chain  of 
men  and  women  trafficking  in  girls  brought  into  this  country 
to  be  used  and  sold  as  prostitutes.  The  chain  has  its  largest 
center  in  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  branch  connections  in 
many  other  cities.  It  operates  most  freely  in  San  Francsico, 
Los  Angeles,  Seattle,  Nome  (Alaska),  Omaha,  Denver,  and  New 
Orleans.” 

When  “white  slavery”  is  understood  to  refer  to  cases 
of  capture,  or  holding  by  force,  girls  who  are  wholly  un- 
willing and  innocent  of  all  consent  in  sexual  wrong,  the 
mind  views  the  most  revolting  of  all  its  phases.  The  rec- 
ords of  our  courts,  the  reports  of  the  Government  Immi- 
gration Commission  and  other  Vice  Commissions,  the  re- 


68 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ports  in  newspapers,  and  the  testimony  of  midnight  mis- 
sion and  rescue  workers,  abundantly  show  that  force  has 
been  used  to  entrap  the  innocent  and  unwary  in  numbers 
of  instances. 

Judge  Gemmill  of  Chicago,  in  an  address  delivered  on 
January  10th,  1911,  referred  to  white  slavery  as  a minor 
problem.  In  an  able  article  which  appeared  in  the  North- 
western Christian  Advocate  he  says: 

“The  white  slave  traffic  is  based  upon  the  proposition 
that  girls  are  forced  against  their  wills.  The  number  of 
such  girls  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  who  become 
inmates  of  such  places  is  very  small.  But  one  genuine 
case  of  this  kind  has  been  before  me  in  two  years.”  Judge 
Gemmill,  in  the  same  address,  says:  “Hundreds  of  girls 
have  been  arraigned  before  me.  Many,  having  been  be- 
trayed, sought  a hiding  place  from  all  the  world.  This 
community  would  be  startled  if  it  could  gather  together 
these  poor  abandoned  souls  of  the  city  and  confront  them 
face  to  face.” 

If  this  is  not  a picture  of  slavery — what  is  it  ? It  is  cer- 
tainly not  prostitution  by  choice  or  consent  of  will. 

The  full  and  accepted  meaning  of  the  term  “white 
slave”  includes  all  that  large  proportion  of  “inmates”  of 
brothels,  who  do  not  choose  the  life,  but  have  been  en- 
trapped into  it  by  the  various  seductions  and  compelling 
methods  so  well  known  to  the  traffickers.  “Slavery  means’ 

* “Any  man  or  woman  who  traffics  in  the  sexual  life  of  any 
woman  or  girl  for  financial  reward  or  gain  is  a trafficker  in 
women,  and  therefore  is  a ‘white  slaver.’  In  the  more  restricted 
meaning  the  ‘white  slaver*  is  a man  who  hy  means  of  coercion 
or  bodily  punishment  compels  a woman  or  girl  against  her  will 
to  sell  herself  to  some  other  man  for  money  which  he,  the 
‘white  slaver,’  takes  from  her  for  his  own  benefit.’’ — Massachu- 
setts Report  on  White  Slave  Traffic. 


White  Slave  Traffic  69 

that  condition  in  which  an  individual  is  not  master  of  his 
own  person.” 

It  may  be  estimated  that  at  least  25  per  cent  of  all  the 
inmates  of  houses  of  prostitution  are  included  in  this  defi- 
nition. Keepers  of  the  vile  dens  find  that  the  supply  of 
girls  for  their  infamous  trade  cannot  be  maintained  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  ‘ ‘ pimp  ’ ’ or  traders  of  girls  for  the  mar- 
ket of  vice,  and  the  traders  could  find  no  market  for  the 
girls  if  there  were  no  recognized  houses  of  ill  fame. 

A girl  betrayed  is  the  principal  stock  in  trade  of  the 
“house  of  ill  fame.” 

The  “house”  cannot  run  without  her  and  human  fiends 
set  traps  to  catch  her.  Depriving  her  of  her  honor,  more 
dear  than  life  itself,  she  becomes  a slave  with  little  or  no 
hope  of  redemption. 

Drawn  by  forces  she  does  not  understand,  lured  by 
lies,  or  driven  by  want,  she  falls  into  the  net  of  the  hunter. 
Thus  the  market  is  supplied  with  fallen  women.  A girl 
is  sold  and  resold  into  deeper  and  deeper  depths  of  in- 
famy, debased,  diseased,  until  death  ends  her  sad  career. 

Whose  girls  are  these  ? Whose  daughters  will  be  next  ? 

That  the  White  Slave  traffic  continues  its  ravages  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  States  is  established  by  the  fact 
that  current  newspapers  throughout  the  country  record  such 
cases  daily.  “Vigilance”  devoted  several  pages  of  each  of 
its  issues  of  September  to  December,  1913,  for  a monthly 
record  of  such  cases  collected  from  newspapers  from  a clip- 
ping bureau.  In  the  month  of  September,  the  number  of 
newspapers  quoted  were  104.  The  cases  reported  were : 


SEPTEMBER— 

Girl  victims  14  to  17  years  of  age 63 

Women  arrested  6 

Men  arrested  or  sought 135 


70  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

OCTOBER— 

Arrested  26 

Charged  with  White  Slavery  Offenses 12 

Held  for  Grand  Jury 4 

Indicted  6 

Held  for  Court  2 

Convictions  14 

’NOVEMBER— 

Arrested  27 

Charged  12 

Held  for  Grand  Jury 4 

Indicted  3 

Held  for  Court  8 

Arraigned  7 

Trials  5 

Convictions  2 

DECEMBER— 

Arrested  31 

Charged  8 

Held  for  Grand  Jury 3 

Indicted  7 

Held  for  Court  9 

Arraigned  2 

Trials  10 

Convictions  14 


The  Massachusetts  State  Commission  just  issued,  Feb., 
1914,  says : ‘ ‘ The  detailed  reports  of  the  investigators  show 
that  prostitution  in  all  its  ramifications  constitutes  a vast 
business  extending  all  over  the  State.  Millions  of  dollars 
are  invested  in  the  parlor  houses,  call  houses,  road  houses, 
apartments,  lodging  houses,  cafes,  saloons,  hotels,  etc.,  uti- 
lized in  this  business.  The  large  amount  of  money  re- 
quired to  produce  the  income  for  this  investment  is  de- 
rived from  the  proceeds  of  the  prostitution  of  the  inmates 
and  the  incidental  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks.” 


White  Slave  Traffic 


71 


Sources  and  Causes  of  the  Traffic. 

The  relative  degree  of  the  many  causes  which  lead  to 
the  prostitution  of  women  and  girls  cannot  easily  be  de- 
termined. According  to  the  experience,  or  study,  of  social 
conditions,  they  appear  the  greatest  and  most  serious. 
Drink,  low  wages,  dance  halls  and  other  pleasure  resorts, 
poverty  and  seductions,  lack  of  home  training,  ignorance, 
bad  books,  love  of  finery;  all  these  are  among  the  common 
causes, — and  chief  among  them  is  alcohol. 

Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow  says:  “A  large  proportion  of 
men  and  a still  larger  proportion  of  women  owe  their  initial 
debauch 'to  the  influence  of  alcohol.  Perhaps  more  than 
any  other  agency,  alcohol  relaxes  the  morals  while  it  stimu- 
lates the  sexual  impulse. 

“Langstein’s  statistics  cf  169  cases  of  venereal  infection, 
comprising  for  the  main  part  statistics  of  military  men  of 
different  grades,  are  as  follows:  18  were  drunk  at  the  time 
of  sexual  commerce ; 55  were  intoxicated ; 85  had  drunk  but 
moderately ; 1 was  a chronic  alcoholic ; 48.3  per  cent  were 
under  the  influence  of  alcohol.  M.  ForePs  investigations 
show  that  76.4  per  cent  of  venereal  contaminations  were 
effected  under  the  influence  of  alcohol,  and  the  greatest 
number  of  contaminations  occurred  in  persons  below  twen- 
ty-five years  of  age.” 

All  authorities  agree  that  alcoholism  is  an  enormous 
factor  in  the  social  evil  problem.  Dr.  Tait  of  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  in  his  work  on  “Magdalenism,”  published  in 
1842,  says  intemperance  “is  almost  invariably  associated 
with  every  species  of  crime.  There  are  few  causes  of  pros- 
titution more  prevalent,  and  none  more  powerful.”  Dr. 
Sanger  stated  in  his  “History  of  Prostitution,”  published 
in  1856  that  “not  one  per  cent  of  the  prostitutes  in  New 
York  practice  their  calling  without  partaking  of  intoxicat- 


72 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ing  drinks,”  and  Logan  quotes  the  words  of  a “London 
Magdalene,”  “No  girls  could  lead  the  life  we  do  without 
gin.” 

Parent-Duchalet,  speaking  of  this  class  of  women,  says 
“they  insensibly  accustom  themselves  (to  the  liquor  habit) 
until  the  practice  becomes  so  strong  as  to  preclude  all 
chance  of  returning  to  a better  state  and  finishes  by  plung- 
ing them  into  the  lowest  state  of  brutality.” 

We  could  fill  a volume  with  similar  testimonies.  But  it 
is  sufiScient  to  add  to  these  here  given  the  fact  that  every 
Vice  Commission  of  recent  times  and  every  authority  who 
speaks  on  the  subject  points  to  the  intimate  relation  be- 
tween the  saloon  and  the  brothel,  and  between  liquor  and 
lust,  not  only  in  their  close  relation  as  cause  and  effect, 
but  also  to  the  fact  that  the  worst  forms  of  the  Social  Evil 
could  not  exist  were  it  not  for  liquor  and  the  saloon. 

The  Kansas  City  Inquiry  on  Vice  conditions  of  that 
city  reported  the  declared  “causes  of  the  first  act  of  prosti- 
tution” on  the  part  of  226  girls  as  follows:  Drinking  26, 
Dancing  24,  Buggy  Riding,  14,  Parks  17,  Shows  10,  At 
School  11,  Coaxed  78,  Forced  17,  Betrayed  29. 

Thus  more  than  10  per  cent  declared  their  ruin  as  whol- 
ly due  to  drink  and  if  one  reflects  upon  the  other  eight 
“causes”  there  will  be  little  doubt  but  that  liquor 
was  a chief  contributory  agent  in  them.  Drinking  and 
dancing  for  example  as  causes  of  prostitution  are  usual- 
ly related.  The  large  proportion  of  those  who  said  they 
were  “coaxed”  could  probably  have  told  stories  of  how 
liquor  entered  into  the  coaxing. 

Many  contributory  “causes”  are  shown  in  the  evidence 
obtained  by  the  various  vice  commissions  throughout  the 
country,  as  well  as  in  the  testimony  of  authorities  in  other 
lands.  Some  of  these  causes  are  strikingly  named  in  the 


White  Slave  Traffic  73 

following  paragraph  from  the  Chicago  Report,  page  175, 
176. 

“From  the  records  of  156  girls  committed  to  legal  custody 
from  other  portions  of  the  State  than  Chicago,  86  were  the  chil- 
dren of  intemperate  fathers  and  13  of  intemperate  mothers. 
These  cases  of  degradation  in  country  families  parallel  the  con- 
ditions found  in  many  homes  from  which  the  Chicago  children 
came  before  the  court.  Unregulated  play  in  early  childhood 
and  prurient  pleasures  in  youth  were  the  occasion  of  the  per- 
version of  many  of  these  children,  both  in  the  city  and  the 
small  town  as  well  as  in  the  country.  The  first  experience  in 
sexual  irregularity  came  to  14  Chicago  girls  and  22  country  girls 
while  at  play  when  very  young;  to  45  Chicago  girls  and  65 
country  girls  it  came  as  an  incident  to  such  forms  of  recreation 
as  the  theater,  walking  in  the  parks,  picnics,  skating  r^nk,  and 
buggy  riding.  In  3 cases  the  girls  were  going  to  or  from  church. 
To  35  Chicago  girls  and  39  country  girls  their  first  experience 
of  wrongdoing  came  in  the  gratification  of  a certain  curiosity; 
to  1*4  from  Chicago  and  24  from  the  country  there  was  an  at- 
traction of  something  like  affection;  to  23  from  Chicago  and 
34  from  the  country  it  meant  obtaining  small  sums  of  money, 
from  11.00  to  $3.00,  and  in  some  instances  only  some  candy. 
The  victims  of  force  and  fraud  numbered  25  from  Chicago,  62 
from  the  country.  Those  who  were  only  ten  years  old  or 
younger  numbered  18  from  Chicago,  24  from  the  country.” 

The  seductions  of  men  in  one  form  or  other  are  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  fall  of  nearly  all  girls  who  are  in  the 
ranks  of  prostitution.  On  this  point  another  paragraph 
from  the  same  source  reads : 

To  one  who  hears  the  ghastly  life  story  of  fallen  women 
it  is  ever  the  same— the  story  of  treachery,  seduction  and 
downfall — the  flagrant  act  of  men — the  ruin  of  a soul  by 
man. 

It  is  a man  and  not  a woman  problem  which  we  face 
today — commercialized  by  man — supported  by  man — the  sup- 
ply of  fresh  victims  furnished  by  men — men  who  have  lost 
that  fine  instinct  of  chivalry  and  that  splendid  honor  for 


74 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


womanhood  where  the  destruction  of  a woman’s  sonl  is  ab- 
horrent, and  where  the  defense  of  a woman’s  purity  is  truly 
the  occasion  for  a valiant  fight. 

On  this  subject  also  the  words  of  Dr.  Prince  A.  Mor- 
row are  of  special  interest : 

“In  tracing  the  essential  cause  of  prostitution  we  find 
that  while  socio-economic  conditions  are  contributorj’  causes, 
we  must  face  the  fact  that  the  taproot  of  this  evil  is  grounded 
in  the  polygamous  proclivities  and  practices  of  man.  More 
than  the  inherited  tendencies  to  vice  in  certain  women,  more 
than  the  love  of  finery  and  luxury,  the  laziness,  the  economic 
dependence,  the  force  of  want  that  impels  many  of  them  along 
the  road  to  ruin,  more  than  all  these  and  other  alleged  con- 
ditions, the  chief  cause  is  the  unbridled  instinct  of  man,  which 
in  seeking  the  means  of  its  gratification  creates  the  supply  to 
satisfy  the  demand.  The  prostitute  is  largely  the  creation  of 
man’s  sensual  appetite.  The  methods  of  dealing  with  the 
social  evil  have  been  based  upon  a recognition  of  this  demand 
as  a necessity  for  men,  and  they  fail  because  they  endeavor 
to  correct  the  effects  without  touching  the  cause. 

“Efforts  should  be  directed  not  to  making  prostitution 
safe,  but  to  prevent  the  making  of  prostitutes.’’ — American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1907. 

Until  society  changes  social  conditions  there  must  ever 
remain  with  us  the  fallen  woman.  But  there  is  a distinc- 
tion between  the  natural  results  of  bad  moral  and  social 
forces,  and  the  merchandise  of  that  criminal,  cruel  and 
entirely  preventable  market,  where  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
young  girls  are  the  stock  in  trade ; — seduced,  captured  and 
sold  into  hopeless,  irredeemable  slavery. 

The  Traffic  ^Iust  Go. 

All  the  evidence  in  hand  points  clearly  to  the  fact  that 
the  whole  structure  of  this  abominable  traffic  would  fall 


White  Slave  Traffic 


75 


with  the  suppression  of  the  regulated  or  permitted  brothel. 
This  does  not  mean  that  all  vice  would  be  thereby  elimi- 
nated but  if  the  market  was  closed  the  trade  would  cease. 
At  the  International  Conference  held  in  Madrid,  in  the 
fall  of  1910,  Dr.  DeGraaf,  a distinguished  citizen  of  Hol- 
land, presented  some  important  testimony  on  this  subject 
obtained  from  the  heads  of  departments  of  authority. 

“The  French  Committee,”  he  said,  “states  that  the 
house  of  prostitution,  owing  to  the  facility  which  it  offers 
to  the  traffickers  for  speedy  realization  of  the  profits  of 
their  commerce  by  the  easy  sale  of  their  victims,  is  one  of 
the  most  frequent  sources  of  the  traffic,  and  all  the  corres- 
pondents of  the  International  Council  of  Women,  affirm 
that  the  tolerated  house  is  the  principal  source  of  the  traf- 
fic; some  of  them  maintain  that  it  is  the  only  source.” 

Said  Professor  Stoos,  of  Switzerland:  “Nowhere  in 
Switzerland  is  morality  lower  than  in  Geneva,  the  only 
town  where  Regulation  still  exists.” 

The  Dutch  Committee  quotes  official  reports  of  the  in- 
quiries undertaken  by  the  municipal  council  of  Amsterdam 
in  1895,  and  by  Police  Inspector  Balkenstein  in  1901,  which 
declared  that  the  women  in  the  houses  of  prostitution  are 
really  in  slavery,  and  that  wherever  these  houses  are  tol- 
erated the  purveyors  are  certain  to  find  a sure  market  for 
women  they  collect  and  dispose  of;  and  since  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  houses  in  Amsterdam  in  1903  the  White  Slave 
Traffic  has  completely  disappeared  in  that  city.  After  the 
closnre  of  the  houses  in  Amsterdam  the  name  of  this  eity 
was  erased  from  the  annual  list  of  the  traffickers  giving 
the  addresses  of  the  best  buyers  of  women. 

The  German  Committee  declares  that  the  principal 
source  is  the  tolerated  houses;  none  but  an  official  house 


76 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


would  be  able  to  pay  the  high  prices  demanded  for  pretty 
young  girls,  prices  which  go  as  high  as  4,800  francs. 

Dr.  DeGraaf  adds:  “The  principal  question  appears 
to  us  to  be  as  follows:  Is  there  any  reason  why  we  should 
only  attack  the  traffickers?  Ought  we  not  equally  to  pur- 
sue the  buyers?  To  this  last  question  we  may  say  that 
there  has  been  an  almost  unanimous  response ; the  buyers 
are  for  the  most  part  the  keepers  of  houses  of  debauchery. 
If  this  be  so  our  Association  cannot  refuse  to  make  a vigor- 
ous attack  on  the  tolerated  houses,  and  to  prove  to  the  Gov- 
ernments that  they  have  taken  the  wrong  road  in  main- 
taining the  system  of  segregation.” 

We  have  only  to  turn  to  the  great  cities  of  the  United 
States  to  observe  how  closely  we  are  faced  with  a similar 
set  of  facts. 

Wherever  there  is  a “redlight  district”  girls  can  be 
bought  and  sold.  The  great  centers  of  vice  which  are,  not 
only  tolerated,  but  regulated,  with  a view  to  their  con- 
tinuance and  prosperity,  rather  than  with  a view  to  their 
suppression,  are  the  centers  of  the  trade  in  girls. 

Havelock  Ellis  recently  remarked: 

“The  white  slave  traffic  is  not  prostitution;  it  is  the 
commercialized  exploitation  of  prostitutes.  The  independ- 
ent prostitute,  living  alone,  scarcely  lends  herself  to  the 
white  slave  trader.  It  is  on  houses  of  prostitution,  where 
the  less  independent  and  usually  weaker-minded  prostitutes 
are  segregated,  that  the  traffic  is  based.  Such  houses  can- 
not even  exist  without  such  traffic.  There  is  little  induce- 
ment for  a girl  to  enter  such  a house,  in  fuU  knowledge  of 
what  it  involves,  on  her  own  initiative.  The  proprietors  of 
such  houses  must,  therefore,  give  orders  for  the  ‘goods’ 
they  desire,  and  it  is  the  business  of  procurers  by  persua- 
sion, misrepresentation,  deceit,  intoxication,  to  supply  them. 


White  Slave  Traffic 


77 


‘The  White  Slave  Traffic/  as  Kneeland  states,  ‘is  thus  not 
only  a hideous  reality,  but  a reality  almost  wholly  depend- 
ent on  the  existence  of  houses  of  prostitution,’  and  as  the 
authors  of  ‘The  Social  Evil,’  add,  it  is  ‘the  most  shameful 
species  of  business  enterprise  in  modern  times.’  In  this 
intimate  dependence  of  the  white  slave  traffic  on  houses  of 
prostitution,  there  lies,  it  may  be  pointed  out,  a hope  for  the 
future.” — Metropolitan  Magazine,  January,  1914. 

“The  supply  of  women  for  prostitution  does  not  come 
as  largely  as  is  commonly  thought  from  the  ranks  of  those 
willing  or  seeking  to  enter  this  life.  Were  this  true  there 
would  be  no  necessity  for  the  ‘ cadet  ’ procurer,  and  protec- 
tor, who  lead  women  astray ; for  seduction,  false  marriages, 
drugs,  pleasure  halls,  drink,  and  force,  to  entice  them  into 
this  life;  and  compulsory  prostitution,  division  of  fees, 
cost  of  living  and  of  protection  would  not  be  used  to  keep 
them  in  such  a state  of  subjection.  The  procurer  and  the 
combined  interests  are  aware  that  if  the  safeguards  of 
childhood  can  be  broken  down,  the  work  of  procuring 
women  and  patrons  is  easier.  ’ ’ ^ 

The  panders,  cadets  and  other  procurers,  who  furnish 
the  victims  at  prices  according  to  the  beauty  and  attrac- 
tion of  the  “goods”  would  find  no  purchasers  in  any  city, 

^Committee  of  Fourteen,  New  York,  1910. 

“The  commission  has  definite  information,  including  names 
and  addresses,  of  many  men  who  are  procurers  of  women  and 
girls  for  the  business  of  commercialized  prostitution. 

“The  pimps  constitute  a well-recognized  class  of  exploiters 
of  women.  These  idle,  flashily  dressed,  smooth-talking  men, 
often  with  no  visible  means  of  support,  may  he  found  in  every 
city  of  any  size.  They  usually  spend  their  time  in  low  drink- 
ing places,  amusing  themselves  by  gambling,  playing  pool,  etc. 
They  are  keenly  on  the  lookout  for  young  girls  who  have  just 
begun  a life  of  immorality.  They  openly  boast  of  the  girls 
they  have  seduced,  and  tell  of  their  carefully  planned  schemes 
for  the  seduction  of  other  innocent  girls  who  have  attracted 
their  notice.” — Massachusetts  State  Commission,  Feb.,  1914. 


78 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


if  the  brothel  was  suppressed  by  the  police  authorities,  ac- 
cording to  laws  already  existing  in  most  of  our  States. 

Big  Business  in  Chicago. — Dive  keepers  were  found 
guilty  of  operating  houses  of  ill-fame  in  Chicago  on  Jan. 
5th,  1914.  Inspector  of  Morals  W.  C.  Dannenherg  ar- 
rested the  two  principals  and  forty-seven  inmates  in  No- 
vember, 1913.  The  two  houses  adjoined  each  other — one 
of  them  “a  saloon  and  redlight  cafe,”  the  other  “a  large 
so-called  hotel.”  The  testimony  showed  that  thirty-six 
girls  worked  for  the  two  prisoners.  They  “had  to  report 
for  duty”  at  3 o’clock  each  afternoon  and  remain  on  duty 
until  3 0 ’clock  next  morning. 

“Each  of  the  girls  had  to  contribute  25  cents  a week  to  a 
fund  for  the  payment  of  the  professional  escorts  who  sat  at  the 
table  with  her  until  a spender  took  his  place.  For  each  dol- 
lar’s worth  of  drinks  bought  at  the  girl’s  table  she  received  a 
red  ticket,  which  she  cashed  in  every  morning  at  the  rate  of 
40  cents  on  the  dollar.  White  tickets  were  sold  to  men  for  $2 
each,  and  were  cashed  in  by  the  girls  for  50  cents. 

“Rolls  of  these  tickets  were  introduced  as  exhibits.  The 
last  serial  number  on  the  spool  of  red  tickets  was  27,000.  The 
last  figure  on  the  roll  of  white  tickets  was  48,300.  Attorney 
Reker  computed  that  these  figures  showed  that  a business  that 
ran  as  high  as  $150,000  had  been  done.” — Chicago  Tribune. 

So  long  as  a girl  can  be  sold  for  sums  varying  from 
$15.00  to  $500.00,  there  will  be  pimps — ghouls — who  feed 
and  fatten  on  human  flesh ; and  so  long  as  there  are  broth- 
els, open  by  the  grace  or  apathy  of  law,  there  wiU  be  a 
market  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  them.  It  is  easier  to 
find  a market  for  the  sale  of  a stolen  woman  than  for  a 
stolen  horse,  and  while  there  is  a police  hunt  for  the  man 
who  steals  an  automobile,  the  police  force  is  indifferent 
to  the  robbery  of  a woman’s  body  and  soul. 

The  price  of  the  woman  is  rated  by  her  personal  charms 


White  Slave  Traffic 


79 


— her  youth  and  innocence  being  regarded  as  important 
assets.  The  younger  and  fresher  a girl,  the  bigger  the 
price.  It  is  the  only  business  in  the  world  of  commerce 
that  puts  a premium  upon  inexperience  and  ignorance. 
Compared  with  the  chattelism  of  negroes,  the  slavery  of 
girls  for  profit  through  lust,  is  a far  more  damnable  depth 
of  human  barter.  The  female  slave  of  the  lust  traffic  has 
no  redemptive  feature — no  domestic  life — no  poetry  of 
love — no  “daddy”  and  “mammy”  or  old  “auntie.”  She 
is  doomed  to  a perpetual  merchandise  of  her  body,  with- 
out love  or  pity.  Sold  from  one  slave-hell  to  another — 
each  a transfer  to  a deeper  depth,  without  hope  of  a change 
for  the  better.  “I  am  chained  to  a stake  with  the  devil’s 
links,”  said  a woman  who  still  retained  sufficient  of  her 
youth  and  beauty  to  be  clothed  in  gaudy  satins.  But  when 
the  remnant  of  her  beauty  fails,  the  human  devil  will  let 
go  her  chains  and  cast  her  out — a hopeless,  pitiless,  de- 
spised, scorned,  diseased  leper,  to  be  spurned  and  loathed 
until  she  is — 

“Mad  from  life’s  history 
Glad  to  death’s  mystery, 

Swift  to  be  hurled 
Anywhere — anywhere 
Out  of  the  world!’’ 


The  self-righteous  world  may  wrap  itself  in  a mantle 
of  prudery,  and  close  its  ears  against  sickening  details ; 
the  complacent  public  may  demur  at  an  approach  to  sin 
and  misery;  the  self-satisfied  community  may  object  to 
view  wretchedness  drawn  from  the  obscurity  of  its  hid- 
ing-place to  the  full  light  of  investigation;  nevertheless, 
there  is  now  existing  a moral  pestilence  which  creeps 
insidiously  into  the  privacy  of  the  domestic  circle,  and 
draws  thence  the  myriads  of  its  victims,  and  which  saps 
the  foundation  of  that  holy  confidence,  the  first,  the 
most  beautiful  attraction  of  home. 

There  is  an  ever-present  physical  danger,  so  fatally 
destructive  that  the  world  would  recoil,  as  from  the 
sting  of  a serpent,  could  they  but  appreciate  its 
malignity  which  is  daily  and  hourly  threatening  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  community;  which  for 
hundreds  of  years  has  been  slowly  but  steadily  making 
its  way  onward,  leaving  a track  marked  with  broken 
hopes,  ruined  frames,  and  sad  recollections  of  stricken 
friends;  and  which  now,  in  the  full  force  of  an  impetus 
acquired  and  aggravated  by  concealment,  almost  defies 
opposition. 

There  is  a social  wrong  which  forces  upon  the  com- 
munity vast  expenditures  for  an  object  of  which  they 
are  ignorant;  which  swells  the  public  taxes  and  increases 
individual  outlay  for  a vice  which  has  hitherto  been 
studiously  kept  in  concealment. — Introduction  to  the 
“History  of  Prostitution”  by  Wm.  Sanger,  M.  D.,  pub- 
lished fifty  years  ago. 


CHAPTEE  III. 


THE  ENGLISH  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES  ACTS. 

How  AND  Why  Adopted. 

THE  LAW  IN  OPERATION — THE  BRITISH  LION  AROUSED — THE 
STORM  BURSTS — THE  LAW  IS  REPEALED. 

In  the  year  1860  Lord  Herbert,  then  Secretary  of  War 
of  the  British  Government,  called  attention  to  the  preva- 
lence of  venereal  diseases  among  men  of  the  army  and  navy 
which  were  said  to  be  seriously  diminishing  the  active 
strength  of  the  forces.  It  was  found  that  the  sanitary  pro- 
visions for  the  soldiers  in  barracks  were  ‘ ‘ grossly  inefficient, 
indecent,  and  filthy,  ’ ’ — that  there  was  little  or  nothing  done 
to  promote  the  moral  and  intellectual  life  of  the  men,  and 
that  the  leisure  hours  of  the  soldiers  in  garrison  towns  were 
subject  to  continuous  evil  tendencies  and  resorts.  Accord- 
ingly Lord  Herbert  introduced  important  changes,  which 
had  a marked  effect,  both  on  the  moral  character  and  be- 
havior of  the  men,  and  upon  their  health;  venereal  disor- 
ders decreased  throughout  the  entire  army,  from  146  per 
1,000  men  to  87  per  1,000,  in  six  years. 

While  these  improvements  were  going  on,  another  set 
of  men  were  looking  towards  a compulsory  system  of  regu- 
lation and  registration  of  women  who  consorted  with  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  as  a remedy  for  physical  disorders. 

In  1862  the  Committee  recommended  legislation  for 
British  garrison  towns,  but  condemned  the  compulsory  pro- 
vision for  medical  introspection.  The  advocates  of  the  sys- 


82 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


tern,  however,  regarded  this  compulsory  feature  as  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  the  system.  But  they  were  fully 
aware  that  Parliament,  as  representing  the  people,  would 
not  agree  to  the  passing  of  such  a law  if  the  real  character 
of  it  were  made  known.  Accordingly  they  planned,  secret- 
ly, to  get  a bill  through  Parliament  without  arousing  public 
attention. 

About  this  time  the  country  was  alarmed  by  the  ravages 
of  disease  among  cattle,  and  various  measures  were  taken 
in  Parliament  to  prevent  the  spread  of  these  diseases,  which 
measures  were  called  “Contagious  Diseases  (Animals) 
Acts.” 

Here  was  the  opportunity,  and  also  the  name  ready  to 
hand.  A bill  was  drafted  and  called  by  the  same  name, 
only  that  the  word  in  bracket  (animals)  was  dropped  out 
and  the  word  “women”  was  substituted.  This  bill  was  in- 
troduced and  rushed  through  Parliament  in  the  following 
manner  and  order. 

How  THE  Acts  Were  Passed  : — On  June  20th,  1884,  at 
two  o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  there  were  but  few  mem- 
bers present  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  most  of  these 
were  indifferent  and  sleepy,  the  bill  was  read  without  a 
word  of  comment  or  explanation.  One  week  later  (June 
27th)  it  was  read  a second  time,  again  without  discussion 
or  comment.  Three  days  later  (June  30th),  again  at  2 
a.  m.,  a committee  of  state  officials  and  others  known  to 
be  favorable  to  the  proposed  act,  was  appointed  and  the 
bill  referred.  On  the  15th  of  July  this  committee  reported, 
and  on  July  20th  it  was  read  a third  time  and  passed. 
Thus,  in  exactly  one  month,  this  bill  was  put  through  all 
the  formal  stages,  and  it  became  law,  without  discussion,  or 
any  public  knowledge  whatever  of  its  nature  or  purpose. 
“Not  one  member  of  Parliament  in  twenty  knew  of  its  real 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


83 


import,  ’ while  the  daily  and  weekly  press  merely  recorded 
the  fact  that  a bill  with  that  name  had  passed,  assuming 
that  it  referred  to  cattle. 

This  bill,  which  was  understood  to  be  a temporary  one 
and  did  not  provide  for  compulsory  examination,  was  made 
operative  in  only  a few  garrison  towns.  A society  was  im- 
mediately organized  to  promote  the  extension  of  the  sys- 
tem, and  it  was  advocated  in  certain  circles  as  a “benevo- 
lent measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  woman  who  suffered 
from  the  diseases  in  question.”  Through  the  iufiuenee  of 
this  society  another  bill  was  introduced  to  Parliament  in 
1866.  This  bill  proposed  to  repeal  the  first  act,  substituting 
for  it  a new  one,  extending  the  system  over  a wider  area 
and  making  the  provisions  far  more  stringent — including 
compulsory  medical  examination,  fortnightly. 

The  public  mind  had  not  yet  been  awakened  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  so  this  second  bill  was  introduced  and  carried 
through,  in  a precisely  similar  manner  as  the  first. 

At  one  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  March  16th,  1866,  the 
bill  was  read  without  comment,  and  on  the  22nd  it  was 
read  a second  time.  On  April  9th  it  was  referred  to  a com- 
mittee, the  members  of  which  included  five  vice-presidents 
of  the  society  for  the  extension  of  the  acts  to  the  whole 
population,  and  others  who  had  served  on  the  former  com- 
mittee; on  the  26th,  at  two  o’clock  in  the  morning,  the  bill 
was  recommitted. 

This  Act  was  amended  in  1869  so  as  to  make  it  apply 
to  places,  not  otherwise  named,  and  to  the  territory  of  fif- 
teen miles  around  each  place  named.  The  Acts,  which  were 
now  know  as  “The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  1866-69,”  were 


‘Chas.  Bell  Taylor,  M.  D.,  Nottingham,  England. 


84 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


in  operation  in  eighteen  military  stations  and  naval  ports 
in  the  southern  part  of  England  and  Ireland^ 

Each  district  in  which  the  Acts  were  operative  was 
equipped,  at  public  expense,  with  hospital  wards  for  the 
medical  examination  and  treatment  of  women  and  girls,  and 
special  police  detectives,  dressed  in  plain  clothes,  under  the 
direction  of  the  military  and  naval  authorities,  w'ere  ap- 
pointed. The  sole  business  of  the  police  detectives  was  to 
bring  all  women,  or  girls,  w'hom  they  suspected,  or  who 
were  living  in  circumstances  of  temptation,  into  the  net, 
to  be  regularly,  officially  and  systematically  inspected  by 
medical  men.  These  medical  officials  exercised  their  dis- 
cretion in  giving  to  such  women  a clean  bill  of  health  for 
their  business,  or  holding  them  for  hospital  treatment.  The 
examinations  were  often  attended  with  the  most  brutal  vio- 
lation of  all  sense  of  decency  or  gentleness,  and  instrumental 
introspection  was  the  general  rule. 

Violation  of  a Fundamental  Principle  of  the  Con- 
stitution : — When  once  the  Acts  were  put  into  operation 
it  was  found  that  they  were  constructed  without  regard 
to  the  constitutional  law  of  England  and  against  the  prin- 
ciples of  equity  and  justice  which  generally  prevail  in  all 
enlightened  countries,  in  matters  affecting  the  rights  and 
liberty  of  individual  citizens.  In  the  United  States  their 
constitutionality  would  have  been  tested  in  the  courts. 

Condemned  by  the  Leading  Medical  Journal  : — When 
the  first  of  these  Acts  was  passed  in  1864  the  “British  l\Ied- 
ical  Journal”  characterized  it  as  “f/ie  grossest  violation  of 
the  liberty  of  the  subject  that  had  ever  been  proposed  to  a 
British  Parliament — an  act  which  reduced  women  to  the 

'The  reader  may  find  a brief  sketch  of  the  passing  of 
these  Acts  in  Herbert  Spencer’s  “Study  of  Sociology”  which  is 
substantially  in  accord  with  the  above. 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


85 


condition  of  mere  animals.”  This  statement  of  a leading 
medical  journal  was  more  significant  because  in  later  years 
this  same  journal  joined  in  a conspiracy  of  silence  when  the 
system  was  under  the  fire  of  public  criticism. 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  the  Journal’s  sweeping 
charge  against  the  first  and  mildest  of  the  acts  was  a mod- 
erate statement  when  the  actual  working  of  the  later  acts 
is  considered. 

1.  Only  One  Accused  in  a Double  Act  : — These  acts 
were  directed  against  only  one  of  two  parties  to  the  same 
offense  (women  only),  i.  e.,  assuming  that  the  offense  con- 
sisted of  an  act  of  prostitution.  The  accusation,  however, 
was  not  against  prostitution  as  such,  but  against  incur- 
ring the  risk  of  disease  among  soldiers;  yet  men  were 
not  subject  to  it. 

2.  Military  Law: — It  placed  the  authority  in  the 
hands  of  military  and  naval  officials,  yet  it  was  not  directed 
against  either  the  army  or  navy,  but  against  women  who 
are  civilians — neither  soldiers  nor  sailors. 

3.  The  Law  Unequal  and  One  Sided  ; — It  was  an  un- 
equal and  one-sided  law.  It  treated  one  sex  only — and  that 
the  weaker,  and  rarely  the  first  offender,  as  the  sole  agent 
in  a double  act  of  wrong  doing.  It  treated  the  woman  as 
a criminal  in  an  act  which,  in  the  man,  was  regarded  as  an 
“irregular  indulgence  of  a natural  impulse.”  (Royal  Com- 
mission Report). 

4.  Accused  Treated  as  Guilty: — It  ignored  a most 
important  principle  of  Brittish  law,  viz. : that  an  accused 
person  is  regarded  as  innocent  until  proven  guilty. 

5.  Trial  by  Jury  Denied: — It  denied  to  the  accused 
the  right  of  trial  by  jury.  The  acts  provided  for  the  sum- 
mary commitment  to  prison  of  any  woman  who  refused  to 


86 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


sign  the  “voluntary  submission’’  or  to  obey  an  order  for 
registration  and  periodical  introspection,  and  she  was  im- 
prisoned for  three  or  for  nine  months  without  appeal. 

6.  Compulsory  (Voluntary)  Submission: — It  created 
an  instrument  of  self-crimination,  which  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  men  who  were  professionally  interested  in  en- 
forcing it  upon  unwilling  women.  It  is  a recognized  princi- 
ple in  the  treatment  of  accused  persons  that  they  need  not 
incriminate  themselves.  Yet,  here  was  an  instrument,  de- 
signed and  used  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  women  and 
girls  to  incriminate  themselves.  The  following  is  a copy 
of  the  so-called  “voluntary  submission’’: 

I of in  pursuance  of  the 

Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  by  this  submission,  voluntarily  sub- 
mit myself  to  a periodical  examination  by  the  visiting  surgeon 

for for calendar  months  from  the 

date  hereof. 

Dated  this day  of 18 

Witness Signed 

The  bihnks  were  filled  out  by  the  officer,  who  usually 
entered  “twelve”  before  the  word  “months,”  the  woman  being 
required  to  sign  her  name  or  make  her  mark, — the  witness  being 
the  same  officer. 

Copies  of  this  innocent  looking  document  were  in  the 
hands  of  every  member  of  the  special  police  department, 
ready  for  use  at  any  moment,  as  a means  to  persuade  or 
threaten  women  into  a life  of  registered  prostitution.  Its 
voluntary  character  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  every  such  officer  had  power  to  bring  the  accused 
girl  or  woman  before  a magistrate  or  judge  and  have  her 
imprisoned  for  refusal  to  obey.  It  ivas  voluntary  in  the 
same  sense  as  it  is  a voluntary  act  to  throw  up  one’s  hands 
at  the  command  of  a robber  who  thrusts  a revolver  before 
one’s  eyes. 

7.  No  Evidence  Necessary  to  Secure  Conviction  : — 
It  called  for  no  evidence  against  an  accused  woman,  except 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


87 


the  suspicion  of  the  special  policeman  “that  he  has  good 
cause  to  believe”  that  the  woman  whom  he  accuses  “is  a 
common  prostitute.”  (Clause  15.)  Thus  the  reputation 
of  any  woman  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  police  against  whom 
such  woman  had  no  remedy.  And  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  a suspicion  so  directed,  against  any  woman,  is 
vital  to  her  whole  life. 

8.  No  Means  of  Redress: — It  gave  no  right  or  power 
of  appeal  or  defense  against  any  false  or  damaging  charges. 
Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  pointed  out  in  his  “Study  of  Sociol- 
ogy ’ ’ that  ‘ ‘ not  only  do  the  provisions  of  the  acts  make  easy 
the  establishment  of  charges  by  men  who  are  placed  under 
temptations  to  make  them;  but  these  men  are  guarded 
against  penalties  which  are  apt  to  be  brought  against  them 
for  abusing  their  power.  A poor  woman  who  proceeds 
against  one  of  them  for  making  a groundless  accusation 
ruinous  to  her  character,  does  so  with  this  risk  before  her : 
that  if  she  fails  to  get  a verdict  she  has  to  pay  the  costs, 
whereas  a verdict  in  her  favor  does  not  give  her  the  costs ; 
only  by  special  order  of  the  judge  does  she  get  her  costs.” 

9.  No  Chance  op  Escape  or  Rescue: — Under  these 
acts  the  suspected  woman  was  condemned  to  a life  of 
shame.  Let  the  reader  imagine  a woman,  subject  to  the 
police,  whose  business  in  calling  on  her  is  known  to  her 
neighbors, — branded,  ticketed,  registered  as  a “common 
prostitute,”  who  has  been  subjected  to  the  hateful,  en- 
forced, examinations, — not  for  the  purpose  of  her  relief  or 
for  rescue,  but  to  provide  her  with  a ticket  of  leave  to 
further  prosecute  her  vile  business. 

10.  Blackmail  Made  Easy: — It  is  not  necessary  to 
think  of  the  police  as  worse  than  the  average  man  to  real- 
ize that  they  are  liable  to  use  their  power  for  extortion 
and  sometimes  for  degrading  compliance  with  other  and 


88 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


worse  demands.  But  it  also  exposes  the  most  unprotected 
and  helpless  class  of  people  to  the  attacks  of  vile  men 
falsely  personating  the  special  police.  And  this  is  not  an 
imaginary  possibility,  but  many  such  cases  occurred  and 
are  still  occurring  in  countries  where  such  laws  are  in 
operation.  See  chapter  on  extortion  and  graft. 

THE  LAW  IN  OPERATION — MORAL  AND  CONSTITUTION.:VL  EFFECTS 
OF  THE  SYSTEM. 

The  general  effects  of  the  w’orking  of  this  law  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  were  much  the  same  as  elsewhere.  The 
moral  results  and  the  consequences  upon  the  rights,  honor, 
liberty  and  life  are  everywhere  identical. 

Royal  Commission  Report  : — In  1870  a Royal  Commis- 
sion was  appointed  by  the  government  to  inquire  into  the 
working  of  these  Acts.  This  inquiry  became  necessary,  in 
the  mind  of  the  government,  because  of  the  public  uprising 
against  the  Acts.  The  commission  consisted  of  twenty-six 
men,  several  of  whom  were  well-known  supporters  of  the 
Acts,  and  members  of  the  society  for  extending  them  to  the 
whole  country,  three  others  were  at  one  time  members  of 
that  society,  but  withdrew  their  names  in  presence  of  the 
uprising  against  the  Acts;  only  one  was  a member  of  the 
association  for  repeal  of  the  acts,  and  one  was  a repre- 
senative  working  man. 

The  report  was  published  by  the  government  as  one 
of  its  official  Blue  Books,^  a volume  of  848  pages  (folio  size) 
and  consists  of : 

^This  “Blue  Book”  is  of  value  because  of  the  extensive 
inquiry  which  is  reported  in  it,  including  testimony  of  many 
eminent  men,  such  as  John  Stuart  Mill,  Professor  F.  W.  Newman, 
and  numerous  medical  practitioners  and  public  officials.  It  con- 
tains much  that  is  unfit  for  general  publication,  but  as  a refer- 
ence book  on  this  subject  it  is  an  exceptionally  important  docu- 
ment. 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


89 


1.  The  report  of  the  commission. 

2.  Minutes  of  the  evidence  taken  over  a period  of  45 
days  from  86  witnesses,  and  contains  20,385  questions  and 
answers. 

3.  A mass  of  statistical  matter  presented  to  the  com- 
mission. 

4.  Copy  of  the  Acts,  together  with  legal  forms,  etc. 

Moral  Effects  Upon  the  Women: — As  to  the  effects 
of  the  law  upon  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  women 
who  were  subjected  to  it.  Among  those  who  acknowledged 
themselves  as  prostitutes  the  compulsory  registration  and 
examination  was  at  first  a shock,  both  to  their  remaining 
sense  of  modesty,  and  to  their  personal  rights  in  regard  to 
their  own  bodies.  One  witness,  who  lived  in  a town  in 
which  the  acts  were  in  force,  the  Rev.  Fraser,  chaplain  of 
Maidstone  gaol,  testified  before  the  Royal  Commission  that 
he  knew  of  31  women  who  refused  to  be  examined  (within 
one  year)  at  Maidstone,  19  of  whom  were  sent  to  prison 
rather  than  submit.  There  is  much  other  evidence  of  simi- 
lar purport. 

There  were  others  who  were  not  so  degraded,  but  who 
were  poor  or  were  otherwise  liable  to  the  suspicions  of  the 
police.  These  were  often  shocked  and  outraged  by  the  per- 
secutions of  the  officers  in  visiting  them  at  their  homes  for 
the  purpose  of  inducing  them  to  sign  the  hated  “voluntary 
submission”  papers,  and  thereby  creating  an  odious  suspi- 
cion, both  in  the  minds  of  licentious  men  and  the  neighbors 
generally;  and  further,  such  women  were  frequently  sub- 
jected to  gross  injustice  amounting  sometimes  to  the  cru- 
ellest persecution  through  the  powers  invested  in  the  po- 
lice, of  forcing  them  into  the  ranks  of  registered  prostitu- 
tion. Such  women  and  sometimes  young  girls,  if  seen 


90 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


walking  with  or  talking  to  a young  man,  especially  if  he 
were  a soldier  or  sailor  (though  he  might  be  an  honorable 
friend,  sweetheart  or  a brother)  found  herself  pounced 
upon  by  one  of  the  police  spies  who  were  ever  on  the 
watch.  Many  refused  to  obey,  some  going  to  prison, 
others  fleeing  the  district,  like  slaves  from  old-time  own- 
ers; and  some  of  these  sought  refuge  in  death  rather  than 
submit. 

Driven  to  Death  : — The  case  of  iirs.  Percy  was  well 
known  to  the  writer.  She  was  the  widow  of  an  actor  who, 
with  his  wife,  had  supported  themselves  for  years  at  a 
local  theater  in  Aldershot, — the  largest  military  camp  in 
England.  A few  months  after  her  husband’s  death,  Mrs. 
Percy,  and  her  young  daughter  of  sixteen  years,  were  vis- 
ited by  a police  spy  and  ordered  to  present  themselves  for 
examination.  Mrs.  Percy  wrote  a piteous  letter  to  the  Lon- 
don Daily  Telegraph,  describing  the  persecution  she  was 
subjected  to,  and  left  Aldershot  rather  than  submit,  re- 
moving to  Windsor.  There  she  failed  to  get  an  engagement 
and  returned  to  Aldershot  at  which  place  she  could  easily 
find  employment.  The  police,  however,  hunted  her  down 
again,  and  by  threatening  the  man  who  employed  her,  that 
he  would  have  his  license  taken  away,  he  caused  her  dis- 
charge from  employment.  She  was  soon  reduced  to  penury, 
and  spent  the  last  three  pence  in  refreshment  at  the  eating 
house  of  an  old  friend,  to  whom  she  told  her  wretched  con- 
dition and  said  she  would  drown  herself  rather  than  sub- 
mit, for  “she  was  not  of  that  class.”  The  next  morning 
she  was  found  dead  in  the  canal.  All  the  facts  here  re- 
lated, were  proved  at  the  inquest.  No  attempt  was  made 
at  the  inquest  to  justify  the  police,  or  to  prove  that  IMrs. 
Percy  had  ever  been  a prostitute. 

This  shocking  incident  naturally  provoked  much  criti- 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


91 


cism  of  the  law ; some  newspapers  for  the  first  time  taking 
strong  grounds  against  it. 

The  sixteen  years  old  daughter  (Jennie  Percy)  was 
rescued  by  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler,  who  sent  an  agent  to 
Aldershot  to  take  her  to  Liverpool,  where  she  lived  for 
some  weeks  in  Mrs.  Butler’s  own  home.  She  afterwards 
came  to  the  home  of  the  writer,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months  she  became  a much  respected  waiter  in  a res- 
taurant, and  the  writer  can  testify  that  she  was  a most  ex- 
emplary young  woman. 

Other  Cases  op  Suicide  : — This  was  not  the  only  suicide 
traceable  directly  to  the  Acts.  At  least  three  other  eases 
were  known  of  by  the  writer.  Rachel  House,  aged  28,  con- 
fined in  the  Royal  Albert  Hospital,  as  a registered  prosti- 
tute, threw  herself  out  of  the  window  and  killed  herself. 
Ellen  Mulcarty,  a married  woman,  a registered  prostitute 
before  her  marriage,  drowned  herself  at  Millbay  April 
16th,  1873.  She  had  frequently  complained  of  the  harsh 
treatment  of  Inspector  Anniss,  one  of  the  spy  police.  She 
had  threatened  to  destroy  her  life  rather  than  be  compelled 
to  submit  and  suffer.  She  was  advised  to  marry  the  young 
man  with  whom  she  lived,  but  even  this  did  not  free  her 
from  police  espionage  and  the  fortnightly  examination,  and 
she  chose  death  in  preference.  Elizabeth  J.  Brown  (about 
20)  drowned  herself  July  1,  1874.  Her  complaints  of  the 
harsh  treatment  by  the  police  and  painful  sufferings  at  the 
hand  of  the  surgeon  were  well  known.  She  had  made  a 
previous  effort  to  destroy  herself. 

Hardening  Effects  Upon  Some  Women  : — One  of  the 
results  of  the  Acts  was  to  reduce  some  women  to  a condi- 
tion of  reckless  indifference  to  all  moral  sense.  Evidence 
was  given  before  the  Royal  Commission  that  they  some- 
times called  themselves  “Government  women”  and 


92 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“Queen’s  women.’’  In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  working 
of  the  system  in  England,  as  elsewhere,  the  women  received 
certificates  from  the  doctors,  which  they  used  as  means  of 
solicitation.  Agents  of  the  London  Rescue  Society  gave 
many  instances  of  this  in  their  evidence  before  the  Royal 
Commission  showing  that  it  resulted  in  “the  utter  deaden- 
ing of  conscience,  ivhich  is  the  rapid  and  invariable  result 
upon  the  minds  of  all  women,  who  are  taught  by  those  reg- 
ulation systems  to  look  upon  their  condition  as  a lawful 
one.” 

Thus,  one  inevitable  result  of  this  system  is  to  stamp 
out  the  last  vestige  of  moral  susceptibility  of  the  women, 
whom  it  proposes  to  keep  in  a measure  clean,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  improving  their  moral,  or  even  their  physical 
condition,  but  to  fit  them  temporarily  for  the  use  of  men. 

In  reviewing  the  system  it  is  important  to  keep  this  fact 
in  mind:  The  English  Acts,  the  Paris  police  des  moeurs, 
the  Belgian  law,  or  any  other  regulation  force,  makes  no 
provision  for  the  health  of  the  women  for  their  own  sake. 
It  assumes  that  “once  a prostitute  always  a prostitute,’’ 
and  only  offers  sanitary  aid  for  the  sake  of  the  men  with 
whom  she  consorts. 

Unequal  and  One  Sided  : — Bearing  upon  the  inequality 
and  the  one-sided  operation  of  the  Acts,  upon  women  only, 
the  Royal  Commission  in  its  main  report  says : 

“Many  ivitnesses  have  urged  that,  as  well  on  grounds 
of  justice  and  expediency,  soldiers  and  sailors  should  be 
subjected  to  regular  examinations.  We  may  at  once  dispose 
of  this  recommendation,  so  far  as  it  is  founded  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  putting  both  parties  to  the  sin  of  fornication  on 
the  same  footing,  by  the  obvious  but  not  less  conclusive  re- 
ply, that  there  is  no  comparison  to  be  made  between  pros- 
titutes and  the  men  who  consort  with  them.  With  the  one 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


93 


ike  offense  is  committed  as  a matter  of  gain;  with  the  other 
it  is  an  irregular  indulgence  of  a natural  impulse.” 

Here,  then,  is  a positive,  official  statement,  made  de- 
liberately over  the  signatures  of  the  Eoyal  Commission, 
including  one  bishop,  several  other  clergymen,  and  several 
doctors  and  legislators,  openly  avowing  the  degrading  and 
unjust  doctrine  of  an  unequal  standard  both  of  morals  and 
legal  rights,  as  a basis  of  this  system. 

The  principle  of  these  Acts,  and  indeed  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  regulated  prostitution,  stands  forever  condemned 
by  this  infamous  proposition.  This  doctrine  that  what  is 
wrong  in  women  is  only  irregular  in  men  is  responsible  for 
the  utterly  false  education  which  young  men  face  as  they 
enter  society. 

It  is  nothing  that  these  poor  outcasts  were  brought  down 
to  the  very  jaws  of  hell,  by  the  deeds  of  men  in  the  pursuit 
of  “indulgence  of  their  natural  impulse.”  It  is  nothing 
that,  each  new  day  and  night,  fresh  victims  are  seduced, 
from  innocence  and  home,  into  the  market  of  lust,  through 
the  “irregular  indulgence”  of  a natural  impulse  on  the 
part  of  men.  The  one  noble  distinction  between  them  is, 
that  “he”  is  only  seeking  “indulgence”  while  “she”  is 
seeking  tread  and  clothing.  He  pays,  she  receives.  The 
avowed  difference  is,  that  in  paying  for  “indulgence”  “he” 
is  a virtuous  and  honored  citizen,  to  be  protected,  while 
‘ ‘ she,  ’ ’ who  is  his  partner  in  the  same  act,  is  a vicious  crim- 
inal because  she  receives  the  money  which  her  companion 
pays. 

Many  people  in  modern  society  have  disseminated  this 
doctrine,  justifying  the  “wild  oats  of  men”  and  condemn- 
ing the  “fall”  of  the  girls  who  are  the  victims  of  those  same 
wiid-oats-sowing  men,  but  it  remained  for  an  English 
“Royal  Commission”  consisting  of  clergymen,  doctors  and 


94 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


legislators  to  frame  the  unholy  creed  into  a written  dec- 
laration, and  deposit  it  in  the  archives  of  government  State 
papers  in  England. 

The  British  Lion  Aroused — Public  Agitation  Against 
THE  Acts  : — The  struggle  against  the  Acts  in  England  did 
not  begin  until  some  considerable  time  after  they  were  in 
actual  operation. 

Harriet  Martineau  Protests: — Before  the  first  Act 
was  passed,  one  distinguished  lady,  however,  ]\Iiss  Harriet 
Martineau,  wrote  a series  of  articles  which  were  published 
in  the  London  Daily  News  protesting  against  it,  as  a scheme 
which  was  “set  about  in  an  indirect  way,  with  the  cunning 
of  conspiracy.” 

These  articles  were  written  as  a protest  and  also  as  a 
warning  of  the  danger  of  coming  legislation  on  the  sub- 
ject, but  it  fell  upon  no  ears  that  were  sufficiently  quick 
to  apprehend  the  danger. 

In  June,  1868,  a bill  wms  introduced  to  the  House  of 
Lords  for  extending  the  operation  of  the  Act  of  1866  to 
the  Metropolis  of  London.  The  Rescue  Society  saw  the  im- 
minent danger  of  such  a proposal  and  called  a conference 
in  London,  at  which  a strong  protest  was  prepared  and  a 
copy  sent  to  members  of  the  House  of  Lords  and  the  Com- 
mons— and  the  bill  was  withdrawn. 

The  First  Battle: — This  was  the  first  real  battle  in 
what  proved  to  be  a long  continued  warfare  against  the 
system  in  England.  About  this  time,  a number  of  persons 
opposed  to  the  system  were  attracted  towards  each  other, 
and  began  to  make  protests  from  various  localities. 

Dr.  Charles  Bell  Taylor,  of  Nottingham,  an  eminent 
oculist,  who  had  lived  in  Paris  and  Berlin,  and  attended 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


95 


the  hospitals  there,  was  well  acquainted  with  the  working 
of  the  system  on  the  European  continent.  He  began  a cam- 
paign of  letter-writing  to  the  public  press,  but  of  forty 
letters  sent  in  one  week  to  various  publications,  only  one 
was  printed. 

Conspiracy  of  Silence: — A conspiracy  of  silence  was 
evident.  Everywhere  the  subject  was  treated  as  one  not 
to  he  discussed — but  to  be  hushed  up”  The  press,  in 
some  instances  doubtless,  honestly,  but  more  often,  hypo- 
critically,— affected  an  air  of  concern  for  the  morals  of  the 
people,  and  refused  to  discuss  the  subject;  while  on  the 
other  hand,  frequent  attacks  were  made  upon  the  character 
and  motives  of  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  agitation 
against  the  system.  Some  publications,  notably  the  Satur- 
day Review,  abused  the  reformers  in  true  Billingsgate  style, 
casting  offensive  and  filthy  epithets,  especially  at  the  women 
who  were  among  the  very  choicest  spirits  of  the  land. 

Another  drawback,  at  the  beginning  of  the  agitation, 
was  the  absence  of  prominent  public  men  in  connection 
with  it,  and  the  conservative  mind  of  the  country  was  not 
easily  aroused  to  a belief  in  the  real  nature  of  the  acts. 

But  the  advocates  of  the  system  grew  bolder  and  more 
progressive  in  their  efforts  to  secure  its  adoption  on  the 
whole  country.  As  Mr.  Benjamin  Scott  says  of  them — 
“the  strategy  of  silence  had  succeeded,  publicity  damned 
them.”} 

A Woman’s  Petition  : — In  1869,  aroused  by  this  activ- 
ity of  the  pro-acts  party.  Miss  Martineau  again  took  up 
the  subject,  and  her  personal  influence  with  the  London 
Daily  News  was  such  that  she  induced  the  Managers  of 


'See  “A  State  Iniquity,”  by  Benjamin  Scott,  Chamberlain  of 
London. 


96 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


that  journal  to  publish  four  letters  to  which  she  attached 
the  signature,  “An  English-woman. ” These  remarkable 
letters  aroused  such  an  interest  among  influential  women 
of  the  land  that  a protest  which  she  drew  up  was  signed 
by  thousands  of  women,  foremost  among  whom  were  the 
following:  Harriet  Martineau,  Mary  Carpenter,  Florence 
Nightingale,  Josephine  Butler. 

This  protest  so  ably  sets  forth  the  principles  upon 
which  women  entered  into  this  struggle,  that  it  has  been 
made  historic.  It  reads  as  follows : 

We,  the  undersigned,  enter  our  solemn  Protest  against  these 
Acts:  — 

1st. — Because,  involving,  as  they  do,  such  a momentous 
change  in  the  legal  safeguards  hitherto  enjoyed  by  women  in 
common  with  men,  they  have  been  passed,  not  only  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  country,  but  unknown  to  Parliament  itself;  and 
we  hold  that  neither  the  Representatives  of  the  People,  nor  the 
Press,  fulfill  the  duties  which  are  expected  of  them,  when  they 
allow  such  legislation  to  take  place  without  the  fullest  dis- 
cussion. 

2nd. — Because,  so  far  as  women  are  concerned,  they  remove 
every  guarantee  of  personal  security  which  the  law  has  estab- 
lished and  held  sacred,  and  put  their  reputation,  their  freedom, 
and  their  persons  absolutely  in  the  power  of  the  Police. 

3rd. — Because  the  law  is  bound,  in  any  country  professing 
to  give  civil  liberty  to  its  subjects,  to  define  clearly  an  offense 
which  it  punishes. 

4th. — Because  it  is  unjust  to  punish  the  sex  who  are  victims 
of  a vice,  and  leave  unpunished  the  sex  who  are  the  main  cause, 
both  of  the  vice  and  its  dreaded  consequences;  and  we  con- 
sider that  liability  to  arrest,  forced  surgical  examination,  and 
(where  this  is  resisted)  imprisonment  with  hard  labour,  to 
which  these  Acts  subject  women,  are  punishment  of  the  most 
degrading  kind. 

5th.— Because,  by  such  a system,  the  path  of  evil  is  made 
more  easy  to  our  sons,  and  to  the  whole  youth  of  England;  inas- 
much as  a moral  restraint  is  withdrawn  the  moment  the  State 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  97 

recognizes,  and  provides  conveniences  for,  the  practice  of  a 
vice  which  it  thereby  declares  to  be  necessary  and  venial. 

6th. — Because  these  measures  are  cruel  to  the  women  who 
come  under  their  action — violating  the  feelings  of  those  whose 
sense  of  shame  is  not  wholly  lost,  and  further  brutalizing  even 
the  most  abandoned. 

7th. — Because  the  disease  which  these  Acts  seek  to  remove 
has  never  been  removed  by  such  legislation.  The  advocates  of 
the  system  have  utterly  failed  to  show,  by  statistics  or  otherwise, 
that  these  regulations  have,  in  any  case,  after  several  years’ 
trial,  and  when  applied  to  one  sex  only,  diminished  disease,  re- 
claimed the  fallen,  or  improved  the  general  morality  of  the 
country.  We  have,  on  the  contrary,  the  strongest  evidence  to 
show  that,  in  Paris  and  other  continental  cities,  where  women 
have  long  been  outraged  by  this  forced  inspection,  the  public 
health  and  morals  are  worse  than  at  home. 

8th. — Because  the  conditions  of  this  disease,  in  the  first 
instance,  are  moral,  not  physical.  The  moral  evil  through  which 
the  disease  makes  its  way  separates  the  case  entirely  from 
that  of  the  plague,  or  other  scourges,  which  have  been  placed 
under  police  control  or  sanitary  care.  We  hold  that  we  are 
bound,  before  rushing  into  the  experiment  of  legalizing  a re- 
volting vice,  to  try  to  deal  with  the  causes  of  the  evil,  and  we 
dare  to  believe  that  with  wiser  teaching  and  more  capable  legis- 
lation, those  causes  would  not  be  beyond  control. 

A Startling  War  Cry: — This  protest  vpas  published 
in  the  London  Daily  News  Jan.  1,  1870.  It  proved  to  be 
the  most  startling  war-note  that  had  yet  been  sounded  and 
it  attracted  the  attention,  not  only  of  the  advocates  of  the 
system  in  England,  but  also  of  the  Police  des  Moeurs  of 
Paris,  and  the  authorities  of  other  continental  cities  where 
the  system  had  been  long  in  operation. 

In  Oct.  1869,  a meeting  was  called  at  which  “The  Na- 
tional Association  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Contagious  Dis- 
eases Acts”  was  formed,  with  Frederick  C.  Banks  as  Sec- 
retary. There  were  no  women  in  this  organization,  and  it 
was  soon  felt  that  another  society,  composed  of  women. 


98 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


should  be  formed.  Accordingly  “The  Ladies  National 
Association”  was  organized  and  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler  be- 
came its  distinguished  Honorary  Secretary. 

Other  Societies  sprang  up  all  over  the  country;  the 
Northern  Counties  League  Avith  Henry  J.  Wilson  (after- 
wards M.P.)  as  President;  the  Friend’s  Association,  and 
the  Midland  Counties  League. 

Cardinal  Manning  wrote  a letter  to  the  author  of  this 
book  which  appeared  in  the  Medical  Enquirer.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a copy  of  the  letter : 

“Westminster,  Jan.  23,  1875. 

“Sir: — In  reply  to  your  note  received  this  morning,  request- 
ing me  to  give  my  opinion  on  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I regard  them  with  the  strong- 
est repugnance,  and  with  the  gravest  fear  for  the  sake  of  the 
public  morals  of  the  country. 

“I  am  assured,  upon  trustworthy  evidence,  that  those  Acts 
have  never  been  sufficiently  discussed  in  the  Legislature,  and  to 
that  cause  I must  ascribe  their  present  state. 

"On  every  ground  of  Christian  and  natural  morality  the 
administration  of  these  Acts  appears  to  me  to  be  fatal  to  our 
public  moral  sense. 

“I  can  conceive  of  no  argument  that  can  justify  these  Acts, 
even  in  particular  cases,  except  overwhelming  sanitary  reasons. 
But  I am  assured,  upon  evidence  which  I cannot  doubt,  that 
the  alleged  sanitary  benefits  have  not  been  obtained.  I am, 
therefore,  of  opinion  that  every  dictate  and  law  of  morality  re- 
quires the  Repeal  of  the  existing  Acts;  and  in  this  opinion  I am 
the  more  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  they  are  the  first  introduc- 
tion into  our  legislation  of  a system,  which,  in  my  belief,  has 
had  disastrous  consequences  in  other  countries. 

"I  may  convey  my  meaning  in  the  following  words:  Medical 
and  surgical  practice  in  the  subject-matter  of  these  Acts  can  be 
justified  on  moral  grounds  only  where  its  application  is  free 
from  immoral  consequences.  But  such  cannot  be  the  case  in 
the  public  and  systematic  administration  of  the  Contagious 
Diseases  Acts.  "Henry  E.,  Archbishop  of  Westminster. 

"To  Wii.LiAM  Burgess,  Esq.” 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  99 

The  following  letter  from  Professor  F.  W.  Newman  was 
published : 

A lengthy  letter  also  was  received  and  published  from 
Prof.  F.  W.  Newman  from  which  we  take  the  following 
paragraphs : 

“Weston  Supeb-Mare,  Oct.  9,  1876. 

“Dear  Sir: 

“I  need  not  re-assert  my  own  hatred  and  disgust  for  the 
Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  offensive  as  they  obviously  are  to 
Justice,  to  English  Rights,  and  to  the  vital  interests  of  Morality 
and  Family  life.  Nor  need  I express  my  contempt  for  the  judg- 
ment of  every  one,  be  he  physician  or  statesman,  who  hopes  to 
stamp  out  disease  by  measures  which  increase  vice — the  main 
and  essential  cause  of  disease.  * ♦ ♦ 

“More  than  50  years  ago  I was  pierced  to  the  heart  at  the 
profligacies  of  young  men  at  Oxford,  and  desired  to  utter  some 
public  cry  against  it,  but  saw  no  rightful  opportunity.  But  now 
that  the  State  has  enacted  unjust  and  pernicious  laws,  based 
upon  moral  despair,  and  designed  to  make  vice  healthful,  every 
one  of  us  is  under  duty  as  a good  citizen,  to  cry  aloud  and 
spare  not,  but  avow  (whether  we  are  men  or  women)  our  abomi- 
nation alike  of  the  false  doctrine  and  of  the  unjust  demoralizing 
law.  Many  have  been  slow  to  learn  the  facts;  but  every  year  all 
the  worthiest  part  of  the  nation  will  be  more  united  against  the 
law  and  against  the  evil. 

“Francis  W.  Newman. 

“To  Mr.  Wm.  Burgess,  Secretary.” 

No  single  question  of  moral  welfare  ever  called  forth 
more  profound  and  deeply  earnest  floods  of  eloquence. 
Men  and  women  came  out  from  every  sphere  of  social  and 
political  life,  like  prophets  inspired — stirred  only  by  an  in- 
tense purpose  to  deliver  the  nation  from  a great  political 
and  moral  wrong.  No  sense  of  pleasure  or  sentiment 
moved  them,  and  no  self-interest  was  sufficient  to  check 
them  in  their  self-sacriflcing  labors. 

The  anti-slavery  agitation,  the  temperance  movement, 
and  others,  had  in  them,  various  factors  of  romance  and 


100 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


social  fellowship.  A temperance  entertainment  seemed  to 
be  in  proper  form,  and  a concert  is  a suitable  annex  to 
a benevolent  enterprise;  stray  stories  of  negro  humor  and 
song  accompanied  the  abolition  movement. 

But  here  is  a theme  that  admits  of  no  merry  song  or 
funny  story.  It  is  wholly  dark,  sombre,  uneongenial,  un- 
social, appalling.  Its  sole  attraction  lies  in  its  call  to  a 
profound  sense  of  merey  and  duty.  To  those  who  bore  its 
cross  there  was  for  many  years  nothing  but  a cross.  Yet, 
there  were  not  wanting,  leaders  from  the  ranks  of  the  high 
and  the  lowly,  many  of  the  most  distinguished  in  social, 
educational  and  political  circles. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore  wrote  of  a number  of  those, 
whom  she  met  during  her  visit  to  England  in  1878.  John 
and  Jacob  Bright,  John  Stuart  Mill,  Cardinal  Planning,  the 
Taylors,  the  MacLarens,  the  Ashworths,  Sir  James  Stans- 
feld.  Prof.  Stuart,  Miss  Frances  Power  Cobb,  Mrs.  Faw- 
cett, Madame  Venturi,  Mrs.  Lucas,  ]\Iiss  Martineau,  and 
others.  Greatest  of  all,  as  a leader  in  this  new  abolition, 
Mrs.  Josephine  E.  Butler. 

Mrs.  Livermore  says;  “At  Cambridge  I met  Mrs.  Jo- 
sephine Butler.  She  was  a very  beautiful  woman,  but 
much  worn  with  the  long  struggle,  the  leadership  of  which 
had  devolved  mainly  upon  her.  She  had  consecrated  her- 
self to  the  work,  with  no  thought  of  withdrawing  from  it 
\intil  the  Acts  should  be  repealed.  Knowing  no  fear,  she 
had  appealed  to  the  best  people  of  every  nation  in  Europe, 
and  had  drawn  them  into  the  contest,  leading  them  so 
wisel}"  throughout  the  whole  nauseous  contention  that  she 
retained  their  loving  confidence  and  challenged  the  admir- 
ation of  the  world.  One  cannot  but  hope  that  some  great 
joy  will  crown  the  life  of  this  noble  woman,  to  compensate 
her  for  those  awful  years  when  she  went  down  into  Hades 
to  save  her  fallen  sisters.” 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


101 


The  readers  of  this  story  will  learn  that  “great  joy” 
did  come  to  “crown  the  life  of  this  nohle  ivoman.”  She 
lived  to  see  the  disgraceful  laws  wiped  from  the  Statute 
books  of  her  country,  and  more — it  was  her  privilege  to  in- 
augurate an  international  Federation  of  purity  forces  that 
has  already  borne  much  fruit,  and  is  destined  to  change 
the  mental  and  moral  attitude  of  the  entire  world  on  this 
subject,  abolishing  the  double  standard — not  by  lowering 
it  to  men’s  old  level,  but  by  raising  both  men  and  women 
to  a nobler  sense  of  justice,  mercy  and  purity. 

The  writer,  as  a humble  worker  in  this  crusade  in  Eng- 
land, knew  Mrs.  Butler  and  served  under  her  leadership. 
He  would  gladly  add  his  testimony,  not  only  to  her  great 
and  noble  character,  but  also  to  her  wonderful  power  of 
inspiring  in  others,  something  of  the  intense  love  and  de- 
votion which  ever  moved  her  and  permeated  her  speech 
and  counsel  with  an  eloquence  that  has  rarely,  if  ever, 
been  excelled. 

An  eloquent  and  fitting  tribute  to  Mrs.  Butler  has  been 
written  by  an  American  woman  in  recent  magazine  liter- 
ature. Writing  of  the  uprising  against  the  Contagious 
Diseases  Acts,  Mrs.  Spencer  says: 

“By  1866,  however,  the  nation  began  to  understand  the 


A splendid  tribute  is  paid  to  Mrs.  Butler  at  the  magnificent 
Episcopal  Cathedral,  now  in  course  of  erection  at  Liverpool, 
England.  In  the  cloisters  or  courts,  leading  to  the  very  fine 
“Chapel  of  Our  Lady,”  already  completed,  there  are  several  fine 
windows.  These  windows  are  devoted  to  memorials  of  women 
who,  during  the  past  century  or  two,  have  given  their  lives  to 
heroic  and  self-sacrificing  service  to  humanity.  Here,  for  exam- 
ple, are  portraits  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fry,  Miss  Florence  Nightin- 
gale, Jeanne  d’Arc;  and  notable  among  them  is  a portrait  of 
the  classic  and  beautiful  face  of  Mrs.  Butler  in  the  days  of  her 
prime,  to  which  is  attached  the  following  legend: 

"Josephine  Butler  and  all  true  champions  of  purity.  Josephine 
Orey  was  born  at  Milfield  Hill,  on  the  Cheviot  Hills,  in  1828. 


102 


The  World's  Social  Evil 


significance  of  the  act.  And  to  one  woman  came  a call  to 
stir  that  nation  to  revolt.  That  woman  was  Josephine 
Butler,  perhaps  the  most  unique  combination  in  moral  re- 
form of  a lawyer’s  brain,  a prophet’s  passion,  a mystic’s 
certainty  of  divine  guidance,  an  orator’s  power  of  appeal, 
a poet’s  recoil  from  the  ugliness  of  evil,  and  a mother’s 
tenderness  enlarged  by  sorrow  and  sympathy  to  enfold  a 
ivorld  of  suffering  and  sin.  When  the  new  abolition  move- 
ment has  triumphed,  when  the  traffic  in  womanhood  has 
ceased,  when  the  permitted  brothel  is  unknown  as  an  in- 
stitution, when  the  slavery  of  the  prostitute  is  ended  with 
the  abolition  of  man’s  “right  of  privilege’’  to  hold  her 
captive  to  his  vicious  indulgence,  when  these  insuperable 
obstacles  to  a “white  life  for  two”  have  been  removed, 
mankind  may  at  last  begin  true  race  culture  on  the  basis 
of  justice,  wisdom  and  love.  And  when  that  time  comes, 
the  world  will  place  high  in  some  temple  of  remembrance 
of  the  great  and  good  who  have  achieved  this  miracle 
of  progress,  the  fragile  figure  and  the  sad  and  lovely  face 
of  Josephine  Butler  as  the  embodiment  of  the  crusade 
for  the  better  life.” — Anna  Garlin  Spencer  in  The  Forum, 
June,  1913. 

Mrs.  Butler  Appeals  to  Workmen  : — To  the  working 
men  Mrs.  Butler  wrote  with  her  facile  pen,  and  to  them 

She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Orey,  a well-known  agriculturist 
and  political  reformer,  and  married  in  1852  Dr.  George  Butler 
of  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  afterwards  Principal  of  Liverpool 
College  and  Canon  of  Winchester. 

“She  took  an  active  part  in  movements  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women;  for  the  married  women's  property  bill,  and  later 
for  the  removal  from  the  statute  book  of  a law  for  the  regula- 
tion of  immorality  and  in  favor  of  moral  reform  in  the  army. 
All  these  movements  have  met  considerable  and  some  with  com- 
plete success.  She  was  the  author  of  numerous  books  and 
pamphlets  on  social  subjects,  several  of  which  have  been  trans- 
lated into  various  continental  languages.  Her  death  took  place 
in  1906.” 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


103 


she  spoke,  wherever  opportunity  afforded,  in  that  search- 
ing, thrilling,  matchless  eloquence,  which  was  more  than 
oratory — it  was  a message  inspired — a message  of  right- 
eous indignation,  of  mother  and  sister  sympathy,  and  of 
holy  love.  It  took  time,  however,  to  arouse  the  conscience 
of  the  public.  The  greatest  difficulty  she  found  was  to 
make  men  and  women  believe  that  such  a system  was  ac- 
tually in  operation  in  England. 

In  1870  the  first  meeting  of  workingmen  to  discuss  the 
subject  was  held  when  Prof.  James  Stuart  (afterwards 
M.P.)  gave  a course  of  lectures  to  artizans.  Mr.  Stuart 
urged  Mrs.  Butler  to  speak  at  one  of  these  meetings.  She 
shrank,  at  first,  from  speaking  in  public  to  men,  but  finally 
consenting,  the  impression  made  and  the  sympathetic  hear- 
ing which  these  men  gave  her  was  such,  that  she  was 
prompted  to  the  thought  that  ultimate  success  in  the 
movement  lay  in  the  co-operation  of  working  men. 

The  writer  recalls  an  interview  with  Edmund  Jones  to 
induce  him  to  enter  the  campaign.  He  was  one  of  nature’s 
noblemen — an  able,  thoughtful,  working  man.  Years  be- 
fore, he  had  been  a vigorous  advocate  of  the  moral  sua 
sion  wing  of  the  Chartist  agitation,  in  which  Henry  Vin- 
cent and  Ernest  Jones  were  distinguished  as  martyr  agi- 
tators. Edmund  was  a natural  born  orator,  whose  trumpet 
voice  had  been  heard  on  the  temperance  question  for  a 
quarter  of  a century.  For  more  than  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury he  had  been  teacher  of  basket-making  at  the  Liver- 
pool School  for  the  Blind. 

Edmund  Jones  Could  Not  Believe  It  : — I talked  with 
him  of  this  legalized  iniquity.  He  replied:  There  is 

some  mistake.  I cannot  believe  that  there  is  such  law  on 
the  Statute  Books  of  this  Country.  1 have  heard  some- 
thing of  it  but  it  is  surely  an  exaggeration.’’  * * * But  I 


104 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


can  prove  it;  I will  bring  you  a copy  of  the  Acts  and  will 
sJww  you  the  working  of  this  system  in  England  and  Ire- 
land. Then  he  looked  at  me  with  that  honest  eye  of  his 
and  exclaimed,  with  a rising  passion  which  always  kindled 
in  him  at  the  thought  of  a political  iniquity;  “Why, 
that’s  the  most  infernal  thing  out  of  hell!  If  you  can 
prove  to  me  that  all  you  have  said  of  it  is  a fact  I will 
never  rest  another  day  until  the  infernal  thing  is  wiped 
out.”  That  same  night  the  “infernal  thing’’  was  proven 
to  him  and  he  kept  his  word.  The  old  man  eloquent  made 
speedy  arrangements  to  stump  the  country,  and  his  voice 
was  heard  everywhere ; on  the  platforms  of  great  halls, 
sometimes  in  the  counsels  of  labor  unions,  appealing  to  his 
brother  workman  to  resist  the  tide  of  this  iniquity.  Mrs. 
Butler  had  said — “if  the  working  men  of  Great  Britain 
can  be  aroused  the  day  will  be  won.”  Very  soon  the 
Working  Men’s  League  was  formed,  and  50,000  members 
were  enrolled  in  a few  months. 

Parliament  Stirred  : — Meantime  the  agitation  had  been 
carried  into  Parliament.  The  first  notable  attack  on  the 
Acts  in  the  House  was  made  by  Mr.  Jacob  Bright,  M.P. 
(brother  of  John  Bright)  who  moved  that  the  Army  esti- 
mates be  reduced  by  3,648  pounds  (about  $18,250)  the 
sum  asked  for  to  maintain  the  special  police  employed 
under  the  Acts.  This  was  in  1872.  A bill  had  previously 
been  presented  for  the  repeal  of  the  Acts  by  Mr.  Fowler, 
but  it  was  “counted  out,”  a nice  little  scheme  of  legis- 
lators to  strangle  any  measure  which  is  unpopular  with 
them.  Mr.  Bright’s  proposal  to  withdraw  the  funds  with 
which  the  Acts  were  enforced  was  voted  upon,  with  74 
for,  and  140  against.  Sir  Harcourt  Johnstone  afterwards 
led  the  repeal  forces  in  Parliament  for  several  years  by 
forcing  a vote  each  year  on  the  question. 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


105 


A Government  Supporter  : — But  the  most  conspicuous 
and  influential  help  came  to  the  Repealers  in  the  open  and 
avowed  adherence  of  The  Right  Hon,  James  Stansfeld. 
He  was,  at  the  time,  a prominent  member  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone’s Cabinet,  a position  which  prevented  him  from  be- 
coming a leader  in  the  movement,  but  later,  when  a change 
of  Government  occurred,  he  sacrificed  his  place  in  the 
Cabinet  and  entered  into  the  fight  with  all  the  vigor  and 
ability  of  his  well-known  statesmanship.  The  London 
Times  in  an  editorial  “sincerely  regretted  to  find  a states- 
man of  Mr.  Stansfeld ’s  eminence  identifying  himself  with 
the  hysterical  crusade  against  the  Contagious  Diseases 
Acts,  in  the  discussion  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  take 
sides  without  herding  with  prurient  or  with  cynical  fa- 
natics.” Such  utterances  indicate  the  attitude  of  the  pub- 
lic press  generally. 

It  became  evident,  also,  that  although  the  basis  of  the 
struggle  must  rest  upon  the  moral  and  constitutional  ques- 
tions involved,  yet  in  official  circles  the  battle  would  have 
to  be  fought  out  on  hygienic  grounds.  If  it  could  be  stated 
without  contradiction,  that  the  system  promoted  the  health 
of  soldiers  and  sailors,  even  though  it  were  at  the  expense 
of  the  liberty,  honor,  and  safety,  of  some  women,  it  would 
be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  change  the  official  mind  on 
the  subject,  and  to  get  Parliament  to  agree  to  set  it  aside. 

A NATIONAL  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION 

A National  Medical  Association  was  therefore  organized 
at  Liverpool  in  November,  1874.  One  of  the  first  things 
done  by  this  Association  was  the  issue  of  a Manifesto, 
which  is  so  important  a document  that  it  was  circulated 
widely  among  statesmen  and  physicians  in  Europe. 

The  medical  press  of  the  country  shared  in  the  “con 


106 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


spiracy  of  silence.”  The  New  Medical  Association,  there- 
fore, established  a monthly  journal,  “The  Medical  En- 
quirer,” which  was  published  by  Secretary  Wm.  Burgess, 
who  also  acted  as  Assistant  Editor,  with  Dr.  J.  Birkbeck 
Nevins  as  Chief  Editor,  and  a number  of  leading  medical 
men  as  contributors.  This  paper  did  valiant  service.  It 
thoroughly  riddled  the  whole  question  of  hygiene,  in  all  its 
relations  to  the  system,  and  it  was  mainly  through  this 
agenc}^  that  the  hygienic  failure  of  the  Acts  was  proven. 
After  publishing  the  “Enquirer”  for  three  years,  the 
Medical  Press  of  the  Country  began  to  discuss  the  subject 
and  the  general  movement  had  reached  the  importance 
of  a great  public  question  so  that  the  Press  withdrew  its 
attitude  of  silence  and  in  the  later  days  no  subject  of  pub- 
lic agitation  was  more  fully  reported  in  the  great  news- 
papers than  this.  It  was,  therefore,  deemed  unnecessary 
to  continue  the  publication  except  as  an  occassional  num- 
ber might  be  called  for.  The  first  number  was  issued 
March  15,  1875,  when  a copy  was  sent  to  practically  every 
medical  practitioner  in  the  country,  and  the  last  regular 
issue  was  dated  Feb.,  1878. 

The  Fight  Is  On: — The  fight  was  noiv  on  in  earnest. 
Public  meetings  were  held  everywhere  and,  while  many  of 
them  were  brutally  disturbed,  and  in  some  instances  the 
very  safety  and  life  of  the  speakers  were  endangered  by 
organized  mobs,  yet  these  were  regarded  as  evidence  of  the 
straits  to  which  the  advocates  of  the  system  were  put. 

“Whom  the  Gods  destroy  they  first  make  rnad.”  One 
of  the  old  handbills  now  lies  before  me  as  I write.  It 
announces  two  meetings  in  Dublin,  one  of  them  a women ’.s 
meeting  held  Oct.  1st,  1878,  to  be  addressed  by  l\Irs.  Butler 
and  other  ladies.  The  second  meeting  was  held  in  the 
great  Rotunda,  a tremendous  gathering.  The  speakers  an- 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


107 


noiinced  were  the  Eight  Hon.  James  Stansfeld,  Sir  Har- 
court  Johnstone,  M.  P.,  Prof.  James  Stuart,  Mrs.  Josephine 
Butler,  Dr.  Thos.  Carson  and  Edmund  Jones.  A list  of 
67  prominent  local  men  who  promised  to  attend  was  also 
given.  The  writer  was  present  as  the  Secretary  of  the 
meeting  and  will  never  forget  the  tactics  employed  by  the 
opponents  to  break  it  up.  Medical  students  of  Dublin  were 
organized  into  a rowdy  gang  who  seated  themselves,  at 
an  early  hour,  in  the  gallery  of  the  hall.  When  the  pro- 
ceedings opened  they  threw  coppers  (pennies  and  half 
pence)  down  into  the  crowd,  among  whom  were  some  boys, 
who  had  an  inkling  of  possible  “fun,”  and  a general 
scramble  took  place. 

Riots  at  Repeal  Meetings: — The  “gang”  hooted, 
shrieked  and  indulged  in  every  kind  of  hideous  yelling, 
drowning  Mr.  Stansfeld ’s  voice,  who,  therefore,  was  only 
able  to  speak  to  the  press  representatives.  The  rising  of 
Mrs.  Butler  to  speak  was  the  signal  for  a general  stampede 
towards  the  platform,  where  a defense  guard  was  quickly 
arranged,  while  the  speakers  made  good  their  exit  through 
the  platform  door,  and  the  whole  meeting  was  broken  up 
in  violent  disorder,  the  police  mildly  pretending  to  aid  in 
quelling  the  disturbance. 

This  is  only  a sample  of  many  of  the  meetings  held 
throughout  the  country,  especially  when,  at  election  times, 
the  candidates  were  questioned  on  the  subject.  In  one  in- 
stance rowdies  brought  live  sparrows  into  the  meeting  and 
let  them  fly,  while  the  speaker  was  addressing  the  meeting. 
Another  time  Prof.  Stuart  arranged  for  a meeting  of 
women  and  found  the  floor  of  the  hall  strewn  with  cayenne 
pepper.  At  another  time  a deliberate  plot  was  made  to 
kill  Mrs.  Butler  and  many  a time  her  safety  was  threat- 
ened. 


108 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


A striking  incident  of  a by-election  which  occurred  at  a 
vacant  constituency  (Colchester)  illustrates  this:  Sir 
Henry  Storks,  an  ex-Governor  of  Malta,  who  had  enforced 
the  regulation  system  in  that  island,  with  great  severity 
against  women,  was  selected  by  his  party  to  represent  the 
Government  in  the  election  contest  for  Colchester. 

Mr.  Storks  had  given  publicity  to  his  views  in  an  open 
letter  as  follows:  “I  am  of  opinion  that  very  little  benefit 
will  result  from  the  best  devised  means  of  prevention  until 
prostitution  is  recognized  as  a necessity." 

In  Colchester  the  liberals  were  quite  sure  of  returning 
Storks. 

But  the  opponents  of  the  C.  D.  Acts  could  not  allow 
such  a conspicuous  advocate  to  run  in  without  protest.  Dr. 
Baxter  Langley,  himself  a liberal  in  politics  entered  the 
field  against  Storks,  and  Professor  James  Stuart  and  Mrs. 
Josephine  Butler  went  to  Colchester  and  joined  in  the 
campaign. 

Mr.  Scott,  Chamberlain  of  the  City  of  London,  thus  de- 
scribed the  brutality  of  the  opposition  to  these  valiant  op- 
ponents of  the  C.  D.  Acts: 

“The  blood  of  the  liberal  partisans  was  up.  They  attacked 
the  hotel  In  which  Mrs.  Butler  and  her  friends  were  staying, 
and  when  Dr.  Langley  began  to  hold  public  meetings  they  went 
mad  and  created  a riot.  Dr.  Langley  tried  to  hold  a meeting  in 
the  theatre,  but  he  and  Professor  Stuart  were  scarce  able  to 
announce  their  principles  before  they  were  driven  from  the 
platform  and  chased  to  their  hotel,  which  they  reached,  Langley 
covered  with  flour  and  dirt  from  head  to  foot,  his  clothes  torn, 
his  face  bleeding,  and  Stuart  wounded  in  the  arm  by  a heavy  blow 
which  some  ruffian  had  inflicted  with  a chair.  The  followers 
of  Storks  may  have  justified  this  playfulness  as  one  of  the 
amenities  of  political  warfare,  but  there  was  no  sort  of  justifica- 
tion for  the  next  thing  they  did.  They  posted  on  the  walls  an 
exact  description  of  Mrs.  Butler’s  dress,  in  order  that  she  might 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


109 


be  recognized  and  mobbed.  Every  day  she  had  to  alter  her  dress, 
and  her  friends  never  addressed  her  by  her  name  in  the  street 
lest  some  listener  should  rally  the  ever-ready  mob  to  attack  her. 
One  after  another,  hotel-keeper  and  lodging-house  keeper  dis- 
missed her  from  their  houses.  On  one  occasion,  after  repeated 
flights  from  different  houses,  a room  was  taken  for  her  in  a 
hotel,  under  the  name  of  Gray.  There  she  had  gone  to  bed  and 
was  falling  asleep  when  she  heard  a knock  at  the  door  of  her 
room,  followed  by  the  shout  of  the  proprietor,  “Madam,  I am 
sorry  to  find  you  are  Mrs.  Butler;  please  get  up  and  dress  at 
once,  and  leave  the  house.  The  mob  are  around  the  house 
breaking  the  windows.  They  threaten  to  set  fire  to  it  if  you 
don’t  leave  at  once.  They  have  found  out  that  you  are  here. 
Never  mind  your  luggage,  leave  it  here;  dress  quickly  and  I 
will  show  you  out  of  the  back  door.’’  Then  he  harangued  the 
mob  whilst  Mrs.  Butler  was  dressing,  and,  led  by  one  of  the 
servant  girls,  ran  along  a little  back  street  as  fast  as  they  could 
go,  until  she  found  shelter  in  the  humble  house  of  a kind-hearted 
woman.  The  next  morning  it  was  seen  that  the  doors  of  the 
hotel  had  been  battered,  and  the  windows  had  been  shattered 
by  stones. 

"A  Wesleyan  Minister  in  the  town  wrote  a letter  against 
Storks,  and  for  thus  daring  to  express  a righteous  opinion,  not 
held  by  his  infuriated  flock,  these  pious  folk  drove  him  from  his 
church  and  the  town. 

“There  was  nothing  but  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  to  be 
heard,  of  throughout  the  election  struggle.  As  the  pollfng  day 
drew  near  Sir  Henry  Storks  sent  a friend  to  the  Repealers  to  ask 
for  terms.  They  replied  instantly  by  offering  a written  form 
of  pledge  to  vote  for  the  repeal  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts, 
and  it  was  said,  ‘Let  Sir  Henry  Storks  sign  that.  If  not  that, 
then  nothing.’  The  messenger  went  away  sorrowful.” 

Storks  was  beaten  by  a majority  of  527  votes. 

The  good  sense  of  the  people  was  sufficiently  strong 
to  prevent  the  purpose  of  these  conspirators  against  free 
speech  and  in  course  of  time  it  became  evident  that  such 
practices  were  contributing  to  the  feeling  of  repulsion 
against  a system  which  could  not  bear  the  light  of  free 


110 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


public  discussion.  Still  the  official  mind  of  the  governing 
classes  clung  to  the  Acts  and  the  vested  interests  which 
had  been  created  were  factors  to  be  encountered.  It  re- 
quired a moral  earthquake  to  shake  the  country.  Even 
this  was  at  hand. 

The  Storm  Bursts — The  Law  Is  Repealed  : — The 
storm  gathered  slowly.  Public  feeling  gradually,  but 
surely,  became  intense  and  the  moral  sense  of  the  elec- 
torate was  getting  ready  for  a revolution.  And  a revolt 
there  would  certainly  be,  unless  the  British  Government 
could  be  awakened  out  of  its  indifference. 

Thus  far  the  government  refused  to  make  “repeal”  a 
cabinet  question,  and  every  year  the  motion  of  Sir  Har- 
court  Johnstone  or  Mr.  Stansfeld  for  repeal  of  the  Acts 
was  voted  down. 

^Meantime  the  working  population  was  beginning  to 
make  things  lively.  They  viewed  the  Acts  as  an  increasing 
menace  to  the  liberty  and  virtue  of  their  own  daughters 
and  a danger  to  the  manhood  of  their  boys.  The  working- 
men’s league  became  a power.  Great  outdoor  meetings 
were  held  in  the  northern  cities,  where  the  Acts  were  not 
in  operation,  and  in  the  subjective  districts  of  Portsmouth, 
Plymouth  and  Davenport,  in  the  south  of  England,  and 
of  Cork,  and  other  places  in  Ireland,  mass  meetings  were 
held  at  which  the  officials  under  the  Acts  stirred  up  small 
niobs  to  disturb  the  meetings. 

It  was  a great  sight  to  witness  one  of  the  tremendous 
public  meetings  at  London,  iManchester,  Liverpool,  Leeds, 
Dublin,  Glasgow,  and  other  large  cities  at  which  l\Ir.  Stans- 
feld, disdaining  the  crown  of  glory  as  a Cabinet  ^Minister, 
for  the  sake  of  the  virtue  and  honor  of  womanhood  and 
the  ultimate  deliverance  of  his  country  from  human  slav- 
ery, employed  his  powerful  eloquence  together  with  Mrs. 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


111 


Butler;  and  often  by  their  side  the  plain,  home-spun  bas- 
ket maker  of  Liverpool,  Edmund  Jones. 

One  of  the  exciting  factors  in  this  agitation  was  seen 
in  the  hunted  victims  who  committed  suicide  rather  than 
submit  to  the  Acts.  “The  ghost  of  Mrs.  Percy  would  not 
down.”  Men,  sterling,  honest  workmen,  heard  of  her 
death,  whom  they  regarded  as  a martyr  to  the  conspiracy 
of  a one-sided,  unrighteous  and  dastardly  law.  They 
heard  of  her  young  daughter  hounded  by  secret  police — 
insulted  with  the  abominable  “voluntary”  submission  pa- 
per, and  vengeance  was  in  their  hearts  against  the  men 
who  framed  the  law  which  had  made  her  an  orphan. 

The  question  of  “repeal”  was  therefore  forced  into  the 
elections,  and  candidates  for  future  parliamentary  honors 
found  it  inconvenient  to  face  their  constituents  without 
clean  hands  on  the  subject,  or  if  they  did,  some  of  them 
shared  the  fate  of  Sir  Henry  Storks. 

The  church,  too,  was  aroused  out  of  its  slumber.  It 
became  a deep  religious  conviction  over  the  country  that 
these  laws  were  revolting  to  the  moral  sense — an  outrage 
against  womanhood,  and  a breach  of  God’s  law.  And  so 
the  great  heads  of  the  church,  from  Cardinal  Manning  to 
the  humble  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  Bishop 
and  Clergy  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  as  well  as  practically 
all  the  Free  Church  or  “dissenting”  people,  were  as  one 
voice  against  the  system. 

Meantime  the  National  Medical  Association  had  shown 
the  fallacy  of  the  doctrine  that  physical  immunity  for  dis- 
ease can  be  purchased  at  the  cost  of  moral  depravity  and 
decay.  By  unstinted  labors  and  the  most  careful  and  con- 
vincing statements  of  facts,  and  the  statistics  of  the  de- 
partments responsible  for  the  working  of  the  system.  Dr. 
Birkbeck  Nevins,  the  president,  furnished  a weapon  against 


112  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

the  Acts  that  was  irresistible  to  any  honest  inquirer  after 
the  truth. 

But  the  storm  suddenly  swept  the  whole  country  as  out 
of  the  darkest  sky.  A new  infamy  became  known,  an  in- 
famy, not  directly  a part  of  the  C.  D.  Acts  but  arising  out 
of  the  conditions  which  those  Acts  fostered,  together  with 
the  iniquitous  law  which  made  the  child  of  14:  legally  re- 
sponsible for  her  own  ruin. 

Attracted  by  prospects  of  a harvest,  through  human 
female  slaughter,  the  vampires  of  the  continent  found  a 
way  to  open  a new  market  for  traffic.  Organized  bands  of 
human  vultures  quietly  opened  their  secret  slaughter-mar- 
kets for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  women  and  girls. 

Josephine  Butler,  Ellice  Hopkins,  Ellen  Tod,  and  other 
women  knew  of  it,  and  were  travailing  in  soul  over  the 
dreadful  fact. 

Government  officials  and  heads  of  police  knew,  and 
coolly  regarded  it  as  inevitable,  and  necessary  to  the  social 
conditions. 

But  when  hell  sent  its  worst  agents  to  set  up  an  auction 
block  for  the  purchase  of  human  souls,  in  a country  which 
had  paid  $100,000,000  to  free  the  black  slaves  from  one  of 
its  dependencies,  there  followed  such  a cyclone  as  comes 
only  once  in  an  age  to  any  country. 

W.  T.  Stead,  through  the  columns  of  the  Pall  Mall  Ga- 
zette, denounced  the  purchase  of  English  maidens  by  rich 
debauchees  who  sat  in  high  places,  some  of  whom  were  not 
remote,  even  from  the  Royal  Crown  of  England,  and  there 
was  “something  doing.”  When  that  great  newspaper  ap- 
peared one  day  with  its  awfully  vivid  but  truthful  edito- 
rial, “The  Maiden  Tribute  of  Modern  Babylon,”  London, 
and  all  England  were  staggered. 

It  was  like  the  charge  of  John  the  Baptist  against 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


113 


Herod.  In  Herod’s  time,  Stead,  like  John,  would  have 
lost  his  head.  As  it  was  he  was  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison  on  a “technical  flaw  before  a biased  court.”  But 
Stead  had  not  written  until  he  knew.  He  had  heard  things 
that  made  him  shudder.  Speaking  to  one  who  revealed 
some  of  the  horrors  of  child-girl  outrages  he  said  is 
enough  to  raise  hell,”  to  which  his  informants  answered 
“it  does  not  even  raise  the  neighbors.”  “Then  ITl  make  it 
raise  England,”  cried  the  intrepid  editor. 

A National  Sensation  : — Benjamin  Waugh,  Honorary- 
Secretary  of  the  London  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Children,  was  in  close  touch  vdth  Stead  through  the  con- 
flict and  he  writes  thus  of  Stead ’s  revolutionary  movement : 

No  time  -was  to  be  lost.  The  last  weeks  of  Parliament  had 
come;  in  a dozen  more,  it  would  have  passed  away.  A plan 
struck  him.  He  would  go  where  he  had  never  been  in  his 
life  before,  into  the  night  streets  and  brothels  of  London;  he 
would  go  himself  to  the  hells  where  manhood  was  destroyed, 
and  woman  damned;  he  would  see  and  hear;  and  then  make  his 
fellow  countrymen  see  it  all,  and  hear  it  all,  and  feel  it. 

He  forgot  that  he  was  a journalist;  that  his  readers  might 
not  stand  the  shock;  that  his  reputation  might  not  survive; 
that  if  once,  suspected  in  his  diflBcult,  almost  impossible  decep- 
tion, the  wretched  traders  he  sought  to  expose  would  malm  him, 
imprison  him,  kill  him;  he  forget  that  he  was  a husband,  a 
father,  a brother;  that  Government  authorities  had  refused  to 
help  him;  he  forgot  that  many  able  men  would  call  him  shame- 
less, mad,  filthy;  he  forgot  everything  in  the  one  daring  resolve 
to  kindle  England  with  a pitiful  rage,  burning  as  his  own 
against  plunderers  of  girlhood’s  virtue;  and,  come  what  would 
to  himself,  by  the  opponent  will  of  an  indignant  people,  force 
Parliament  to  amend  the  Bill  and  pass  it. 

In  order  that  he  might  have  the  benefit  of  their  knowledge 
of  why  he  went,  he  confided  his  object  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London,  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of 
Westminster,  and  Lord  Dalhousie.  To  dissuasion,  he  returned 


114 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


but  one  answer:  he  could  not  heed.  To  all  considerations  of 
personal  safety,  a strong  sense  of  duty  rendered  him  deaf  and 
blind. 

He  got  valuable  introductions  from  good  names  to  the 
fashionable  brothels;  he  personated  a wealthy  voluptuary  ; he  won 
his  way  into  the  lady  keeper’s  private  rooms,  and  through  the 
good  names  he  had  and  the  free  spending  of  money,  he  heard 
confidential  secrets.  He  made  acquaintance  of  procuresses; 
priced  and  bought  their  virgins;  he  entered  the  shuttered  and 
cloth-curtained  room,  where  shrieks  were  drowned  of  maddened 
girls;  saw  the  chambers  of  children,  the  chloroform  which  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  administered  to  “very  little  things,’’ 
and  the  women  that  healed  them;  he  heard  their  inhuman  laugh 
at  his  suggestions  of  pity,  their  confidence  as  to  being  “within 
the  law.’’ 

The  keepers  of  brothels  knew  flesh  and  blood  very  well; 
but  they  did  not  know  him:  he  was  the  son  of  a Puritan,  a child 
of  the  Father  in  Heaven:  the  room  was  turning  round,  the  fur- 
niture swam.  Again  and  again  did  he  break  down  and  stumble 
out  into  the  dark  street,  giddy,  with  a bursting  brain.  It  seemed 
as  though  it  would  kill  him;  and  yet  he  returned  again.  He  had 
but  one  thought — it  must  be  done.  * * * * 

Then  came  the  day  of  his  revelation.  And  England  gave  a 
great  cry,  a shriek  of  anguish,  and  wept,  and  prayed  God,  and 
commanded  the  Commons.  And  in  four  short  weeks  every  Eng- 
lish child,  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  was  safe  behind  the  pro- 
tecting care  of  the  Crown,  and  as  for  their  wrong-doers,  they  had 
to  settle  with  the  gaol. 

The  revelation — “The  Maiden  Tribute  of  Modern  Babylon’’ — 
was  necessarily  horrible.  In  it  he  opened  doors;  threw  back 
shutters;  drew  curtains;  and  let  pitying  Christian  eyes  see  the 
sights  over  which  voluptuous  Londoners  were  nightly  gloating. 
He  showed  gins  and  snares  in  which  simple  country  girls  were 
nightly  caught,  to  leap  and  shriek  like  a hare  with  the  feel  of 
the  wire  on  its  foot;  he  showed  the  girl-poacher  mad  with  joy 
in  his  damnable  sport;  he  made  us  see  hot  stinging  girlish  tears, 
and  hear  girlish  voices  full  of  wild  pitiful  despair. 

He  took  us  across  the  sea  to  the  Continent,  and  made  us 
gaze  on  an  eager,  cultivated  girl  who  had  to  earn  her  living. 


The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts 


115 


lured  by  the  offer  of  a place  in  a Christian  family  as  governess, 
the  very  place  she  had  been  seeking,  and  who,  to  get  to  it,  had 
gratefully  spent  almost  her  last  penny,  finding  for  a Christian 
family  a brothel  whose  shut  door  was  henceforth,  by  the  law  of 
the  land,  her  prison;  who  was  awoke  from  her  first  weary 
sleep  to  find  a gloating  devil  resolved  to  have  his  way  with  her. 
His  vivid  pen,  and  burning  brain  and  abandoned  pity,  did  all 
that.” 

In  July  of  that  year  (1885)  the  venerable  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury made  his  last  appeal  for  downtrodden  humanity.  And 
that  noble  philanthropist,  who,  like  Tolstoi,  was  a born 
Aristocrat,  yet,  like  him,  gave  his  life  for  the  uplift  of  the 
oppressed,  devoted  the  closing  public  address  of  his  long 
life  in  praise  of  Stead’s  whirlwind  campaign. 

Meantime  the  agitation  had  so  fully  entered  into  poli- 
tics that  at  the  general  election  of  that  same  year  (1885) 
257  candidates  were  elected  who  were  definitely  pledged  to 
vote  for  repeal  of  the  C.  D.  Acts. 

On  March  16th,  1886,  Mr.  Stansfeld  (afterwards  Sir 
James  Stansfeld)  rose,  in  the  new  House  of  Commons, 
and  moved  a resolution  in  favor  of  repeal,  which  was  car- 
ried; and  on  the  18th  the  same  statesman  introduced  a 
bill,  which  was  read  a second  time  one  week  later,  and  in 
less  than  a month  it  was  passed  into  law,  and  the  Con- 
tagious Diseases  Acts  of  England  were  dead  and  Tjuried 
forever. 


I thank  God  that  it  is  not,  for  any  medical  skill  or 
any  medical  care  under  a system  of  this  kind,  the  object 
and  purpose  of  which  is  to  train  a number  of  woman  as 
mere  instruments  to  be  at  the  beck  and  call,  at  every 
hour  of  the  night  and  day,  of  any  number  of  lustful  men ; 
it  is  not  possible,  I say,  for  any  medical  skill  or  care 
to  guarantee  that  those  poor  instruments  shall  not  be 
the  means  of  conveying  disease  from  man  to  man.  It 
is  well  that  the  moral  law  asserts  itself  in  human  life, 
and  that  it  not  only  forbids,  but  that  it  prevents  the 
success  of  those  demoralizing  miscalled  hygienic  laws. 
If  they  could  succeed  from  their  point  of  view,  if  they 
could  defy  the  precepts  and  defeat  the  object  of  the 
moral  law  which  providentially  governs  this  world, 
then  farewell  to  all  decency  and  purity  of  life.  The 
nation  would  then  have  succeeded  in  teaching  its  youth 
how,  easily,  constantly  and  safely,  to  sin.  It  would 
have  familiarized  it  with  vice  in  its  lowest  form  and 
in  its  deepest  degradation ; society  would  become  cor- 
rupt, like  the  corruption  of  the  Lower  Empire,  from 
base  to  summit,  and  women,  pure  or  impure,  would  be 
but  the  slaves  and  instruments  of  men;  and  moral  and 
religious  teachings  would  come  to  be  received  with  an 
indifference  and  a contempt  hardly  attempted  to  be 
disguised. 

I claim  to  speak  now,  not  in  the  language  of  religion 
or  of  morals,  but  in  the  language  of  science,  when  I say 
that  it  is  impossible  that  an  immoral  law  can  be  a truly 
hygienic  law. — The  late  Sir  James  Stansfeld,  M.  P. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCES. 

Hygiene  and  Police  Rule  in  Europe. 

According  to  the  best  authorities,  the  original  pretext 
for  the  system  of  Regulation  as  applied  to  the  Social  Evil, 
was  not  the  physical  health  of  either  men  or  women,  but 
“the  preservation  of  public  order.  The  behavior  of  the 
prostitutes,  not  their  bodies,  was  the  object  of  police  at- 
tention.”^ 

This  pretext  was  long  ago  abandoned  for  that  of 
hygiene,  as  urged  by  medical  experts  and  police  officials. 
Dr.  Diday  of  Lyons  gave  to  it  the  title  of  a “system  of 
making  prostitution  healthy.”  And  Dr.  Mireur,  Examin- 
ing Surgeon  at  Marseilles,  says  in  his  book  on  “Syphilis 
and  Prostitution:”  “The  Administration  pretends  not  to 
authorize  prostitution,  but  only  to  tolerate  it.  But  it  is 
time  to  cease  playing  with  words;  let  us  be  logical  and 
let  us  be  sincere.”  * * # When  a woman  has  sub- 

mitted herself  to  the  surveillance  of  the  police,  certain 
obligations  are  imposed  upon  her;  certain  limitations  are 
prescribed  to  her,  but  at  the  same  time  she  acquires  at 
this  price  the  right  to  live  by  debauchery,  to  devote  her- 
self to  prostitution  ivith  impunity.” 

Paris: — For  more  than  a hundred  years  Paris  has 
been  subject  to  a rigid  system,  with  compulsory  examina- 
tion of  public  women.  Every  device  that  could  be  of- 


State  Iniquity. — Benj.  Scott. 


118 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


fered  by  the  medical  advisers,  and  enforced  by  the  astnte, 
and  almost  absolute,  police  authorities,  have  been  enforced. 

“It  was  in  Paris,”  says  JMr.  Scott,  “in  the  year  1802, 
that  the  first  ‘Health  Dispensary’  was  opened  to  give  ef- 
fect to  the  then  new  theory  that  men  should  be  saved 
from  venereal  diseases  by  the  compulsory  examination  of 
women,  and  hy  the  incarceration  of  such  of  them  as  were 
suspected  of  having  any  such  disease.” 

Yet,  no  city  in  the  world  offers  stronger  testimony  of 
the  failure  of  the  system  as  a hygienic  measure.  For  many 
years  M.  Lecour  was  the  supreme  head  of  the  Paris  police. 
In  1878  he  said:  “The  administration  has  redoubled  its 
activity,  it  has  multiplied  its  Acts  of  repression  with 
regard  to  prostitutes,  and  it  has  definitely  succeeded  in 
maintaining  in  a satisfactory  condition  the  sanitary  state 
of  public  registered  girls,  and  yet  sanitary  statistics  prove 
that  prostitution  is  increasing,  and  that  it  is  becoming 
more  dangerous  to  the  public  health.”'^ 

In  the  same  year  (1873)  the  Paris  correspondent  of  the 
London  Medical  Times  and  Gazette  wrote:  “Dr.  Armand 
Despres,  for  thirty  years  surgeon  to  the  Lourcine,  the 
great  hospital  with  upwards  of  300  beds  devoted  solely 
to  the  treatment  of  venereal  diseases  in  women  in  Paris, 
has  published  an  important  work  in  which  he  says : ‘ The 
liberty  of  some  women  has  been  destroyed  in  order  to  give 
security  to  debauched  men,  but  the  revolt  has  not  answered 
expectation,  for  the  women  examined  are  not  those  who 
most  communicate  disease.  It  is  little  decent  for  the  prac- 
titioner to  place  himself  like  a sentinel  between  the  de- 
bauchee and  the  prostitute.’  Besides,  the  means  are  al- 
most always  illusory,  and  it  would  be  more  dignified  for 
the  physician  to  keep  himself  out  of  the  way.” 


^Lecour  le  Prostitution  a Paris. 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


119 


France:— The  Westminster  Review,  the  editor  of 
which  was  the  eminent  Dr,  Chapman,  of  London  and 
Paris,  published  powerfully  written  articles  denouncing 
the  French  system  as  a failure.  In  July,  1876,  the  Re- 
view said:  “French  surgeons,  having  the  most  intimate 
practical  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  thoroughly  recog- 
nize that  the  guarantee  in  question  is  illusory.  The  Doc- 
tors Belhomme  and  Martin  make  the  following  statement: 
“This  guarantee  is  very  insignificant,  sad  to  say,  so  in- 
significant even  that  syphilis  is  chiefly  propagated  by 
registered  women.  * # * Patton  writes  that  at 
least  five  times  out  of  six  it  is  in  their  relations  with  reg- 
istered prostitutes  that  military  men  derive  their  syphilitic 
principle.  ’ ’ 

“Dr.  Alfred  Fournier,  who  succeeded  M.  Ricord  as  surgeon 
to  the  Hopital  du  Midi,  the  venereal  hospital  for  males  In  Paris, 
wrote  a thesis  on  syphilitic  contagion,  and  in  conjunction  with 
M.  Puche,  carefully  traced  the  disease  to  its  source  in  873  cases. 
The  result  is  contained  in  the  accompanying  table,  which  may 
be  found  in  Lancereaux’s  work  on  syphilis,  vol.  ii.:  — 


Males  infected  by  public  prostitutes 625 

Males  infected  by  clandestine  prostitutes. 46 

Males  infected  by  kept  women,  actresses,  etc 52 

Males  infected  by  workwomen 100 

Males  infected  by  servant  women 26 

Males  infected  by  married  women 24 


873 


"Thus,  out  of  873  cases  coming  promiscuously  under  the  care 
of  these  gentlemen,  625  contracted  syphilis  under  the  temptation 
of  a false  security,  from  women  warranted  clean  by  the  gov- 
ernment inspectors. 

“Professor  Andrews,  Professor  of  Surgery,  Chicago  Med. 
Coll.,  remarked  upon  this  point: — ‘As  a professional  man,  I have 
been  compelled  to  laugh  at  the  frequent  instances  where  young 
Americans  have,  with  infinite  gullibility,  cohabited  with  loose 


120 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


women  in  Paris,  because  they  supposed  it  safe,  but  were  utterly 
astounded  afterwards  to  find  they  had  contracted  syphilis  or 
gonorrhoea.  There  is  a mischievous  error  abroad  as  to  what 
medical  men  can  accomplish  even  on  those  who  are  under  C9n- 
trol.  The  general  supposition  is,  that  when  a physician  has 
examined  a woman  and  found  no  disease  visible,  she  is  entirely 
safe  for  her  paramours.  This  is  a fatal  blunder,  as  many  a 
man  has  found  to  his  cost.’ 

“Dr.  Wm.  Acton  tells  of  men  who  have  travelled  hundreds 
of  miles,  lured  by  a false  security,  to  visit  French  brothels  in 
London,  where  periodical  examinations  are  carried  out,  and  have 
immediately  contracted  venereal  disease. 

“M.  Lecour  says:  ‘Prostitution  is  increasing,  and  is  now 
more  dangerous  than  ever  to  the  public  health.  Has  the  action 
of  the  police  then  relaxed?  No;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  more 
powerfully  organized  its  means  of  repression,  of  surveillance, 
and  of  sanitary  control.  It  has  never  been  more  active  than 
now.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  the  number  of  daily 
arrests  of  unsubmitted  girls  is  on  the  increase.  The  evil  is  a 
moral  and  social  one,  and  cannot  be  controlled  by  the  police,  who 
can  neither  restrain  nor  destroy  it.  The  evil  must  be  over- 
come by  moral,  not  by  legislative  means.” 

“A  work  by  a celebrated  syphilographer.  Dr.  Diday,  Lyons, 
acknowledges  and  deplores  the  total  failure  of  the  system  in 
France. 

“Dr.  Jeannel,  in  his  work  published  in  1874,  states  that  the 
number  of  diseased  persons  is  greater  in  Paris  than  in  London; 
and  Dr.  Drysdale,  of  the  Metropolitan  Free  Hospital  (London), 
stated  that,  on  going  over  the  Paris  hospitals,  he  was  driven 
to  the  inevitable  conclusion,  that  there  was  far  more  syphilis  in 
Paris  than  in  London,  although  the  population  of  Paris  is  about 
half  that  of  London;  and  this  after  above  eighty  years’  trial  of 
the  system,  and  after  exhausting  every  possible  expedient  to 
ensure  success.  Dr.  Drysdale  challenged  contradiction;  and 
although  Mr.  Ricord  and  almost  all  the  great  continental  auth- 
orities on  the  subject  were  present,  the  truth  of  the  assertion 
was  acknowledged.  Indeed,  Dr.  Lefort  and  Auzias  Turetine  cor- 
roborated Dr.  Drysdale’s  statement,  while  the  latter  frankly 
owned  that  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  had  converted  French 
women  into  white  slaves.” 


Weighed  in  the  Balance  121 

The  following  table,  for  the  year  1868,  gives  some  idea  of  the 
effects  of  the  system  in  disseminating  disease  in  Paris:  — 

Venereal  Patients  treated  in  L’Hopital  du  Midi 3,185 

Venereal  Patients  treated  in  L’Hopital  de  Lourcine. . 1,024 

Venereal  Patients  treated  in  L’Hopital  St.  Lazare 1,624 

Venereal  Patients  treated  in  the  ordinary  Paris  hos- 
pitals   1,551 

Venereal  Patients  treated  in  military  hospitals 2,046 


Total  9,430 


“Address  to  The  Medical  Profession  of  America.”  1877. 

Amsterdam: — Dr.  Huet,  first  physician  to  the  hospi- 
tal in  Amsterdam,  published  a paper  in  1868,  on  the  ef- 
fects of  government  superintendence  of  prostitution  upon 
venereal  diseases  in  the  army  in  Holland.  In  some  cities 
there  is  an  amelioration,  but  the  total  number  is — before  the 
introduction  of  ordinances  1,786  cases  among  15,913  sol- 
diers yearly ; after  the  introduction,  2,241  cases  in  16,810 ; 
i.  e.,  11.2  per  cent  before,  and  13.3  per  cent  after  the  in- 
troduction of  ordinances. 

Brussels: — Dr.  Thierry,  of  Brussels — in  1874 — re- 
marked: “Every  day  you  see  numerous  cases  of  spyhilis 
in  my  wards;  they  are  always  severe,  and  often  present 
difficulties  of  diagnosis.” 

Indeed,  all  trustworthy  evidence  goes  to  show  conclu- 
sively that  we  get  worse  than  nothing  for  the  sacrifices 
which  this  kind  of  legislation  calls  upon  us  to  make. 
“Whatever  renders  vice  apparently  safe,  and  increases  its 
prevalence,  must  increase  disease.” 

Great  Britain  : — The  British  experience  of  the  sys- 
tem called  for  masses  of  statistical  and  expert  testimony. 
The  report  of  the  Royal  Commission  of  1871,  appointed 
for  inquiry  into  the  working  of  the  Contagious  Diseases 
Acts,  after  months  of  inquiry,  with  every  facility  for  ob- 
taining information,  and  with  the  reports  of  the  medical 


122 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


and  police  ofiRcers  who  were  in  charge  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Acts,  and  who  were,  therefore,  prejudiced  in 
favor  of  them,  was  given  in  the  following  words: 

“There  is  no  distinct  evidence  that  any  diminution  of 
disease  among  the  men  of  the  army  and  navy,  which  may 
have  taken  place,  is  attributable  to  a diminution  of  dis- 
ease contingent  upon  the  system  of  periodical  examination 
among  the  women  with  whom  they  have  consorted. 
* * * We  recommend  that  the  periodical  examinations 

be  discontinued.” 

In  regard  to  the  following  statistical  tables,  the  reader 
is  reminded  that,  previous  to  the  year  1866,  there  had 
been  no  compulsory  examination  of  women,  and  therefore 
it  was  not  until  1867  that  any  effects  of  the  Acts  upon 
health  could  be  observed. 

We  have  seen  in  the  previous  chapter  that,  as  a re- 
sult of  the  sanitary  and  moral  improvements  introduced 
to  the  army  by  Lord  Herbert,  there  had  been  a very  de- 
cided advance  in  the  health  of  the  men  previous  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Acts. 

The  following  table  is  from  statistics  taken  from  the 
Army  Reports.  It  presents  a comparison  of  six  years 
before  the  operation  of  the  Acts  and  six  years  under  them, 
in  regard  to  the  whole  of  the  British  Home  Army. 

British  Home  Army — Annual  Ratio  of  Secondary 

Syphilis  Per  1,000  ]\Ien. 

SIX  YEARS  BEFORE  THE  ACTS. 

1861  1862  1863  1864  1865  1866 

32.68  34.63  35.9  35.0  29.6  24.73 

SIX  YEARS  UNDER  THE  ACTS. 

1867  1868  1869  1870  1871  1872 

25.1  31.6  26.2  25.4  20.3  24.26 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


123 


Thus,  while  for  six  years  before  the  Acts,  secondary 
disease  in  the  British  Army  decreased,  from  a ratio  of 
32.68  to  24.73,  there  was  an  immediate  cessation  of  this 
improvement,  after  the  Acts  went  into  operation,  and 
while  fluctuating,  sometimes  above,  and  sometimes  below, 
the  ratio  of  1866,  when  the  Acts  began  to  enforce  exami- 
nations of  women,  the  average  of  the  whole  period  of  six 
years  after,  was  actually  one-sixteenth  higher  than  be- 
fore the  Acts.  Later  statistics  show  that  the  longer  the 
Acts  were  in  operation,  the  worse  the  results. 

The  British  Navy. 

In  the  British  Navy  at  Home  Ports,  the  Reports  of 
Primary  and  Secondary  Syphilis  were  not  separated,  and 
Dr.  Birkbeek  Nevins  shows  that  while  the  ratio  of  these 
diseases  combined,  fell  6.3  per  1,000  yearly,  during  the  six 
years  before  the  Acts,  after  that  date  (1866)  the  improve- 
ment was  partially  arrested,  the  fall  being  only  3.8  yearly 
for  the  six  years  after  the  Acts;  while  gonorrhoea  fell  from 
34.8  per  1,000  in  1862  to  20.4  per  1,000  in  1868,  in  the 
years  1868  to  1875,  it  increased  to  52.5,  that  is  to  say, 
under  the  Acts  this  form  of  disease  MORE  THAN  DOU- 
BLED. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Scott,  Chamberlain  of  London,  furn- 
ishes later  statistics  giving  the  total  results  of  all  forms 
of  the  disease  in  the  navy  down  to  the  year  1882,  from 
which  we  prepare  the  following  table: 

TABLE  SHOWING  RATIO  OP  ALL  FORMS  OF  VENEREAL  DISEASES 
IN  THE  BRITISH  NAVY. 

Also  number  of  days  of  men  in  hospital  from  these  dis- 
orders based  on  an  average  strength  of  20,000  men. 

Ratios  of  loss  of  service  in  the  British  Army  from 
venereal  diseases  per  1,000  men. 


124 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Thus,  of  20,000  men  of  the  British  Army,  172  were  iii 
hospital  daily  in  1866;  in  1882,  after  the  Acts  were  in  full 
operation  for  thirteen  years,  there  were  230  daily. 

One  can  only  imagine  what  the  state  of  the  health  of 
the  British  army  and  navy  would  have  been,  in  course 
of  time,  had  not  the  British  public  ultimately  demanded 
and  secured  the  total  repeal  of  these  Acts. 

The  most  extraordinary  thing  about  it  is  that  it  should 
have  entered  into  the  mind  of  any  set  of  men  that  phys- 
ical diseases,  which  are  the  direct  consequence  of  sexual 
vice,  can  be  cured  by  any  system  which  proposes  to  make 
lust  easy,  and  offers  an  alleged  guarantee  of  safety.  The 
fallacy  of  looking  for  grapes  of  physical  health  from  this- 
tles of  immoral  planting  is  forcibly  rebuked  by  these  facts. 

How  apparent  also  is  the  absurdity  of  attempting  to 
stamp  out  disease  by  treating  only  one  of  two  parties  con- 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


125 


cerned  in  the  act  which  produces  it;  and  the  treatment 
of  that  one,  not  for  the  purpose  of  beneficent  cure,  but 
to  actually  pave  the  way  to  increasing  practices  of  vice. 

Dr.  Charles  Bell  Taylor,  Surgeon  of  the  Midland  (Eng- 
land) Eye  Infirmary,  speaking  before  the  London  Dia- 
lectical Society,  scouted  this  one-sided  legislation,  as  a hy- 
gienic measure  in  the  following  graphic,  if  not  very  ele- 
gant terms: 

“Whoever  heard  before  of  a sanitary  law  applicable  to 
one  sex  only?  What  should  we  think  of  a proposal  to 
stamp  out  the  cattle  plague,  or  any  other  plague,  by  seg- 
regating females  only,  while  the  males  were  left  untouched 
and  free  to  spread  disease?  * * * Whatever  rendered 

vice  apparently  safe  must  increase  its  prevalence  and 
this  would  augment  disease.” — (Medical  Enquirer,  June 
15,  1876.) 

APPALLING  INCREASE  OP  DISEASE  AND  DEATH. 

But  when  the  evil  effects  of  the  system  upon  the  health 
and  life  of  the  women  subjected  to  them  are  considered, 
the  direct  consequences  are  still  more  appalling. 

The  statistics  of  these  conditions  were  not  given  in  the 
army  and  navy  reports,  but  appeared  in  annual  reports 
of  Captain  Harris,  the  head  of  the  police  department, 
having  charge  of  the  enforcement  of  the  Acts. 

Table  Showing  the  Annual  Ratio  op  Deaths  per  1,000 
Women  prom  1865 — the  Year  Bepore  the  C.  D.  Acts 
Came  into  Operation — to  1874. 

Tear 1865  1866  1867  1868  1869  1870  1871  1872  1873  1874 

Deaths  per  1000  Women....  9.8  15.5  10.4  10.4  16.7  16.8  20.6  21.5  16.4  23.0 

Thus  in  the  year  1865,  before  the  operation  of  the  Acts, 
the  ratio  of  death  among  prostitutes  was  9.8  per  1,000 ; 
under  the  Acts,  which  went  into  full  operation  in  1866, 


126 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


and  which  compelled  the  registration  and  inspection  of 
the  women,  the  death  rate  increased,  year  hy  year,  until 
in  1874  it  reached  23  per  cent  per  annum,  or  more  than 
double  the  previous  rate. 

A Parliamentary  paper,  called  for  by  the  House  of 
Parliament,  in  1873,  gives  a return  of  these  deaths  of  reg- 
istered women  from  venereal  diseases,  as  follows : 


1865 — 4 deaths  in 

1867—15 

1869—41 

1871— 53 

1872— 51 


406  registered  women, 

or  9.8  per 

1,439 

“ 10.4 

2,455 

“ 26.7 

2,267 

“ 20.64  “ 

2,371 

“ 21.5 

This  return  not  only  confirms  the  statistics  of  Captain 
Harris;  it  also  shows  that  the  average  life  of  prostitutes 
in  the  Garrison  towns  was  about  ten  years,  before  the  Acts, 
but  under  the  Acts,  it  fell  to  less  than  five  years. 

If  one  can  be  callous  and  indifferent  as  to  the  death 
rate  among  these  poor  creatures,  there  is  yet  the  serious 
question  as  to  the  recruiting  ground  of  those  who  fill 
their  places,  and  the  effects  of  increasing  disease  upon 
their  men  consorts,  and,  through  these,  to  innocent  women 
and  children. 

Whose  children  are  they  who  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the 
army  of  victims,  killed  off,  at  a ratio  of  five  years? 


IMPROVED  HEALTH — WHY.? — REMARKABLE  DECREASE  OF 

VENEREAL  DISEASES  AMONG  BRITISH  SOLDIERS  IN  INDIA. 

Dr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  of  London,  England,  published  a 
statement  in  1909  showing  the  diminution  of  venereal 
diseases  among  soldiers  in  India  since  the  Contagious  Dis- 
eases Acts  were  repealed: 

“The  fall  in  the  ratio  relating  to  these  diseases,  which 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  health  sta- 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


127 


tistics  of  European  troops  in  India  during  recent  years,  is 
common  to  all  kinds  of  venereal  diseases.  It  is  attributed 
to  a number  of  causes,  among  which  may  be  mentioned,  as 
being  the  more  important,  the  efforts  of  regimental  and 
other  officers  to  occupy  the  spare  time  of  the  men  in 
healthy  pastimes,  to  make  the  regimental  institutes  at- 
tractive and  comfortable,  and  to  influence  the  men  to  avoid 
contracting  these  diseases ; the  better  education  and  higher 
moral  tone  now  existing  among  soldiers  generally ; in- 
creased knowledge  of  the  dangers  of  these  diseases  leading 
to  greater  care  as  regards  personal  prophylaxis;  less  in- 
dulgence in  alcohol;  the  more  thorough  treatment  now 
carried  out  in  all  cases.” 

The  statistics  of  this  report  show  that  in  1886  the  case 
ratio  of  venereal  disease,  per  1,000  of  the  army,  was,  for 
the  Home  Army  in  1886,  267,  which  gradually  reduced 
every  year  until  in  1908  the  ratio  was  only  68.4;  and 
that  in  the  Indian  Army  the  ratio  in  1886  was  389.5, 
which  also  gradually  lessened  until  in  1908  it  was  down 
to  69.8. 

These  telling  facts,  and  the  reasons  given  in  the  re- 
port are  most  instructive,  which  ought  to  weigh  with  every 
student  of  social  hygiene  and  public  morality.  These 
reasons  are  set  forth  in  the  following : 

EXTRAORDINARY  SHOWING  OF  IMPROVEMENT  IN  THE  CONDI- 
TIONS IN  ENGLAND  SINCE  THE  REPEAL  OF  THE 
CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES  ACTS. 

In  times  of  peace  armies  are  recruited  mainly  from 
classes  of  men  who  are  most  likely  to  be  in  danger  of 
venereal  diseases.  The  following  table  represents  the 
number  of  recruits  refused  on  account  of  syphilis  per 
10,000,  beginning  with  the  year  1884  when  the  C.  D.  Acts 


128 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


had  been  in  operation  for  18  years,  and  showing  a rapid 
improvement  after  those  Acts  were  repealed.  Compulsory 
examinations  were  stopped  in  1884  and  the  acts  were  re- 
pealed in  1886. 


i<5a4 

mm 

1&&5 

ie>6o 

87j 

1667 

60  r 

1666 

1669 

1690 

63r 

1891 

401 

1696 

46  r 

1696 

1694 

54] 

1696 

1696 

1697 

35  r 

RECRUITS 

1696 

1699 

1 

1900 

zz\— 

Rejected  on  account 
of  Syphilis 
per  10,000  offering 
for  enlistment 

1901 

^51 

1902 

271 

1905 

1904 

zsr^ 

19  05 

Z5I~ 

NO  Regulation: 

19  06 

zr  1 

19  07 

18 

MALADIES  DECREASE 

1906 

18 

19  09 

18 

This  shows  the  ratio  of  incompetents,  for  army  service 
because  of  these  diseases,  reduced  from  106  to  16  per  1,000. 

Chart  showing  the  remarkable  diminution  of  venereal 
diseases  in  the  Home  (England)  Army  beginning  with 
1884,  when  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  were  in  opera- 
tion, and  the  years  since  1886,  when  the  Acts  were  re- 
pealed, down  to  the  year  1909 : 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


129 


1864 
186  S 
1866 
1667 
1888 
1869 

1690 

1691 

1692 

1693 

1694 

1695 

1696 
1597 
I69g 

iSoo 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 
1906 
1909 


HOME  ARM-Y 
British  Isles 

Admissions  Hospital 
Venereal  Maladies 
per  1000  Soldiers 

NO  Regulation: 
MALADIES  DECREASE 


GENERAL  POPULATION. 

Ajiother  very  important  testimony  comes  from  the  re- 
ports of  the  health  of  the  whole  population  of  England 
and  Wales.  The  report  of  the  Registrar-General  gives 
the  number  of  deaths,  at  all  ages,  registered  as  caused  by 
venereal  maladies,  per  million  living.  The  figures  are  as 
follows : 


1884... 

...95 

1890. .. 

...81 

1896... 

...70 

1885... 

...90 

1891... 

...80 

1897. . . 

...72 

1886... 

...92 

1892... 

...79 

1898... 

...68 

1887... 

...85 

1893... 

...82 

1899  . . . 

...67 

1888... 

...78 

1894... 

..  .78 

1900... 

..  .68 

1889... 

...82 

1895... 

...80 

1901. .. 

..  .64 

Note:— -A  large  proportion  of  the  deaths  caused  by  venereal 
maladies  takes  place  in  public  hospitals  and  in  workhouse  asy- 


130 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


TESTIMONY  OP  EXPERTS,  INTERNATIONAL  CONFERENCES  IN 
BRUSSELS,  1899  AND  1902. 

In  1899  an  International  Conference  for  the  Prophy- 
laxis of  Syphilis  and  Venereal  Maladies  was  held  in  Brus- 
sels, under  the  Presidency  of  the  Belgian  Minister  of 
Health  and  the  Burgomaster  of  Brussels.  The  confer- 
ence was  organized  by  a committee  of  medical  experts 
in  Brussels,  on  the  initiative  of  Dr.  Dubois-Havenith,  a 
distinguished  Belgian  specialist.  It  was  specialist  and 
authoritative  in  the  highest  degree.  Roughly  speaking,  it 
numbered  about  360  members,  of  33  nationalities.  Of 
these,  107  were  government  delegates,  representing  29 
different  countries,  mostly  European,  but  including  Persia, 
Japan  and  the  United  States. 

Of  the  entire  number,  295  were  doctors,  and  a large 
number  of  these  held  public  posts  in  the  “Serrtce  of 
Health”  or  as  professors  of  the  special  sub,iect.  The 
65  non-medical  members  of  the  conference  included  min- 
isters of  state,  heads  of  police  or  health  departments,  dele- 
gates of  municipalities,  legal  authorities  and  professors, 
and  a few  other  persons  individually  inrtted  on  the  ground 
of  special  competence,  and  representing,  for  the  most  part, 
the  “sociological”  side  of  the  subject.  Among  these  were 
several  ladies. 

A conference,  so  constituted,  meeting  in  the  very  center 


lums.  In  these  cases  the  causes  of  death  are  registered  under 
their  true  name.  But  this  would  not  always  be  the  case  in  pri- 
vate practice,  where  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  relatives  would 
sometimes  doubtless  lead  to  registration  of  the  cause  under  some 
other  name.  There  are  also  cases  where  the  venereal  malady 
is  a complication,  without  being  the  principal  cause  of  death. 
The  table  given,  however,  shows  a true  nucleus  of  the  actual 
facts,  and  is  to  that  extent  valuable. 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


131 


of  authority  on  the  regulation  system,  and  uninfluenced 
hy  anything  like  popular  sentiment  or  enthusiasm,  should 
have  great  weight  on  the  subject. 

The  proceedings  of  the  conference  and  the  subsequent 
one,  in  1902,  which  was  in  the  nature  of  a second  call  of 
the  same  order,  constitute  an  encyclopedia  of  information 
and  opinion,  and  has  been  published  in  several  volumes  by 
M.  Henry  Lamertine,  Brussels,  at  a cost  of  40  francs  for 
the  first  series. 

A brief  synopsis  of  the  opinions  expressed  follow: 

Question:  “What  has  heen  the  influence  of  existing 
systems  of  regulation  on  the  prevalence  of  disease?” — and 
round  this  question  the  tide  of  dehate  surged  for  a day 
and  a half. 

Hygienic  Utopias: — Dr.  Blaschko,  of  Berlin,  said: 
“A  careful  study  of  all  the  reports  and  statistics  showed 
that  it  was  impossible  to  establish  any  general  rule  as  to 
things  being  better  under  regulation  and  worse  in  its  ab- 
sence. ‘There  is  not  one  of  us  who  is  content  with  regu- 
lation as  it  exists  today.’ 

“Hygienic  Utopias  might  he  very  attractive  in  theory, 
but  methods  which  ignored  the  complex  interests  of  the 
community — economical,  social,  ethical — would  always  de- 
feat themselves.  Dr.  Augagneur,  of  Lyons,  said  ‘Doctors 
were  beginning  to  see  the  uselessness  of  regulation;  its 
partisans  complained  of  it  almost  as  much  as  its  oppo- 
nents.’ ” 

Disease  Not  Due  to  Regulation  : — On  the  other  hand 
Dr.  Barthelmy,  one  of  the  medical  chiefs  of  St.  Lazare, 
the  great  Lock-Hospital  prison  of  Paris,  replied  that  dis- 
ease was  due  to  immorality,  not  to  regulation;  that  pas- 


132 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


sion  was  an  eternal  and  imperative  factor  in  human  life; 
and  that  regulation  was  a means  of  combating  its  attend- 
ant evils. 

Talks  of  Common  Sense: — Prof.  Fournier,  the  head 
of  the  French  delegation,  discarded  statistics:  “There 
remained  one  simple  argument — the  argument  from  com- 
mon sense.  Isolate  an  infected  woman,  and  the  infection 
would  go  no  further;  leave  her  at  liberty,  and  within 
twenty-four  hours  three  or  four  men  would  be  contami- 
nated. That  argument  was  worth  all  the  statistics  put 
together.  He  added  a frightful  picture  of  the  varied 
forms  and  consequences  of  syphilis,  and  of  its  prevalence 
in  Paris,  affecting,  as  nearly  as  he  could  calculate,  a sev- 
enth, if  not  a sixth,  of  the  whole  population.” 

London  and  New  York  Compared  With  Paris: — M. 
Pierson,  Paris,  replied  that  the  gravity  of  the  danger  un- 
fortunately did  not  prove  the  value  of  the  remedy.  Dis- 
ease appeared  to  vary  in  a manner  totally  irrespective  of 
the  regulations.  If  regulation  was  indispensable  to  the 
public  health,  why  were  London  and  New  York,  where  it 
had  never  existed,  in  no  worse  condition  than  Paris? 

Italian  Doctors  Speak  : — The  Italian  doctors  drew 
attention  to  the  very  serious  increase  of  disease  in  Italy 
on  the  abolition  of  Cavour’s  system  by  Signor  Crispi  in 
1888.  Dr.  Bertarelli,  of  Milan,  while  defending  Cavour’s 
system,  did  not  wish  to  see  it  restored ; the  world  had  pro- 
gressed since  then,  and  better  methods  might  be  looked  for. 

Disease  Through  Prostitution  of  Minors: — Elabo- 
ate  charts  and  tables  were  produced  by  the  Paris  doctors 
— the  younger  Fournier,  Dr.  Jullien,  of  St.  Lazare,  and 
others — showing  the  years  from  17  to  20  to  be  the  most 
dangerous  age  as  regards  sj^philitie  infection.  Dr.  Ed- 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


133 


mond  Fournier  urged  that  minors  found  practicing  pros- 
titution should  either  be  placed  in  reformatories  or  com- 
pelled to  return  to  their  homes. 

Tolerated  Houses  Decaying: — A fact,  admitted  on 
all  hands,  was  the  progressive  decay  of  the  tolerated  houses. 
This  was  attributed  to  various  causes — to  their  having 
been  cleared  of  minors  by  the  police,  and  to  the  discour- 
agement of  the  white  slave  traffic,  which  deprived  them  of 
their  most  attractive  inmates;  to  their  terrors  for  the 
women,  owing  to  loss  of  freedom,  strictness  and  frequency 
of  inspection,  etc. ; while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  found 
that  they  afforded  no  guarantee  of  safety. 

Failure  in  Paris: — The  speech  of  Prof.  Fournier,  de- 
scribing the  condition  of  Paris  after  a hundred  years  of 
regulation,  made  a profound  impression.  It  was  felt  that, 
whatever  the  great  professor’s  opinion,  his  facts  spoke  for 
themselves.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  there  were 
moments  when  a sort  of  dismay  seemed  to  spread  through 
the  assembly,  as  of  men  who  begin  to  face  for  the  first 
time  the  possibility  that  a cherished  scheme  may  prove 
hopelessly  impracticable. 

Tolerated  Houses  and  the  System: — M.  Bourgeois, 
chief  commissioner  of  police  at  Brussels,  said  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  Brussels  medical  service  that  the  houses 
should  remain,  at  all  costs,  and  the  women  be  compelled 
to  live  in  them. 

Dr.  Mireur,  of  Marseilles,  said  regulation  apart  from 
the  houses  was  little  better  than  a farce.  Out  of  5,000 
women  on  the  streets  at  Marseilles  only  300  were  on  the 
register.  It  was  impossible  for  the  police  to  deal  with  such 
numbers.  He  would  retain  the  houses,  abolish  the  police 


134 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


des  moeurs,  and  punish  solicitation  under  the  vagrancy 
laws. 

The  Opposite  View: — Dr.  Perrin,  also  of  Marseilles, 
declared  that,  so  far  as  Marseilles  was  concerned,  the 
maison  toleree  was  a thing  of  the  past.  “That  is  the  brutal 
fact,”  he  said,  “and  with  it  crumbles  the  whole  fabric  of 
the  existing  regulations.” 

Some  defended  the  houses  on  the  ground  that  they 
tended  to  clear  the  streets ; but  this  was  denied  by  Dr. 
Hoeffel  and  others,  and  Brussels  itself  was  alleged  as  an 
instance,  M.  Hirsch  asserting  that  15  or  20  years  ago, 
when  the  tolerated  houses  of  Brussels  were  famous  all  over 
Europe,  the  streets  were  full  of  solicitation,  but  now  that 
the  number  of  these  houses  was  greatly  reduced,  the  streets 
were  proportionately  improved. 

Several  Russian  and  other  doctors  spoke  against  them 
in  the  strongest  terms  as  schools  of  profligacy,  and  as  cen- 
ters of  disease. 

Professors  Neisser,  Jadassohn,  and  others  suggested 
that  it  should  be  plainly  printed  on  the  women’s  papers 
that  the  medical  certiflcate  afforded  no  guarantee  of  safety 
to  clients.  “It  must  not  be  a certiflcate  of  health,”  said 
Dr.  Schrank,  of  Vienna,  “but  only  a permit  to  practice.” 

Dutch  Delegate  Opposes  System  : — i\I.  Rethaan 
Macare,  a delegate  of  the  Dutch  government,  said  his  gov- 
ernment had  sent  him  to  learn  rather  than  to  speak.  He 
thought  the  doctors  asked  too  much  of  the  legislatures, 
and  things  incompatible  with  sound  law.  The  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  women  outside  the  tolerated  houses  escaped 
the  regulations  altogether.  The  houses  themselves  were 
high  schools  of  immorality  in  its  worst  forms.  It  was 
there  that  the  procuresses  of  the  future  were  trained  to 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


135 


prey  upon  society.  It  was  there  that  numbers  of  young 
lads  began  their  downward  course. 

Brothels  the  Strongholds  op  White  Slave  Traffic: 
— Mr.  Percy  Bunting,  president  of  the  International  Con- 
ference on  the  White  Slave  Traffic,  held  in  London  in 
June,  1899 ; Drs.  de  Wyslouch  and  de  Pouschkine,  of  War- 
saw; Dr.  Sehrank,  of  Vienna,  and  M.  Yourievitch,  of  the 
Russian  Embassy  in  Paris,  who  attacked  the  keepers  of 
the  houses  as  the  chief  instigators  of  the  white  slave  traf- 
fic, and  Madame  Bieberboehm,  of  Berlin,  urged  various 
measures  for  the  protection  of  girls,  including  the  sup- 
pression of  the  regulation  system,  which  was  simply  a trap 
for  them. 

Education  Advocated: — Dr.  Jonathan  Hutchinson, 
the  English  specialist,  deprecated  panic  and  exaggeration ; 
said  there  were  many  evidences  that  disease  was  not  in- 
creasing, but  steadily  diminishing,  in  England.  Young 
men  in  public  schools  and  colleges  should  be  warned  and 
instructed,  and  the  instruction  should  include  moral  con- 
siderations and  respect  for  the  purity  of  women. 

Conference  Adopts  Resolutions  : — The  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  upon : 

1.  That  the  Governments  should  use  their  utmost  powers 
to  suppress  the  prostitution  of  girls  under  age. 

2.  That  a permanent  International  “Society  of  Sanitary 
and  Moral  Prophylaxis”  should  be  constituted,  having  its  head- 
quarters In  Brussels,  Issuing  a quarterly  journal  in  French,  Eng- 
lish, and  German,  and  holding  Congresses  from  time  to  time. 

3.  That — since  a thorough  knowledge  of  venereology  is  one 
of  the  most  Important  means  of  effectually  combating  the  spread 
of  disease — complete  and  compulsory  courses  of  instruction  in 
the  subject,  for  all  medical  students,  should  be  Instituted  in 
every  University,  so  as  to  ensure  the  training  of  really  compe- 
tent practitioners. 


136 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


4.  That  guardians  of  orphans,  and  others  charged  with  the 
education  of  the  young,  should  use  every  effort  to  promote  their 
moral  development,  and  to  teach  them  temperance  and  respect 
for  women  of  all  classes. 

5.  That  the  utmost  rigour  of  the  law  should  be  enforced 
against  souteneurs  (men  who  live  on  the  earnings  of  prosti- 
tutes). 

6.  That  the  Governments  should  appoint  In  each  country 
a Commission  charged  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  these  diseases, 
apart  from  temporary  fluctuations,  among  the  civil  population, 
to  Inquire  Into  the  existing  means  of  treatment,  the  distribution 
of  hospitals  In  various  localities,  etc.,  and  to  collect  opinions  and 
formulate  proposals  as  to  the  best  means  of  preventing  the  dis- 
semination of  the  malady. 

7.  That  the  Governments  should  And  means  to  warn  the 
public,  and  especially  young  pCfsons,  of  the  dangers  attending 
an  Immoral  life. 

8.  That  the  statistics  of  disease  should  be  drawn  up  in  all 
countries  on  a common  basis. 

SICOND  BRUSSELS  CONFERENCE. 

The  second  conference  held  in  Brussels,  September, 
1902,  was  constituted  much  the  same  as  the  first,  with  a 
similar  personnel  and  included  official  delegates  from 
the  principal  European  governments,  with  several  from 
the  East  and  from  the  United  States,  besides  members 
of  the  new  International  Society  and  a large  number  of 
other  specialists. 

The  debates  themselves  were  a sort  of  echo  of  those 
of  the  previous  conference.  The  protection  of  minors,  and 
the  necessity  of  providing  free  dispensaries  for  voluntary 
patients,  took  an  even  more  prominent  place  at  the  second 
conference  than  at  the  first.  The  question  of  penalizing 
the  communication  of  disease  was  discussed  at  some  length, 
but  opinions  differed  as  to  its  practicability,  and  the  con- 
ference attempted  no  decision.  Professor  Neisser  came 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


137 


armed  with  a scheme  for  bringing  venereal  patients  of  all 
classes  under  a form  of  Regulation  by  means  of  a standing 
sanitary  commission,  with  plenary  powers  to  place  all  such 
patients  under  medical  supervision  and  compel  obedience 
to  all  the  restrictions  imposed;  but  the  conference  refused 
to  consider  it  seriously. 

The  Regulation  System  Contested  : — The  keenest 
debate  of  all  was  on  the  great  subject  of  regulation,  or  no 
regulation. 

British  Experience  : — ‘ ‘ The  position  of  Great  Britain, 
as  a country  which  cast  oif  the  yoke  of  regulation  after  a 
comparatively  brief  experiment,  and  without  attempting 
to  build  up  any  administrative  substitute  for  it,  acquires 
a peculiar  interest.  Dr.  Ernest  Lane,  surgeon  to  the  Lon- 
don Lock  Hospital,  and  honorary  secretary  of  the  British 
Prophylactic  Committee,  summed  up  the  English  position. 
He  said : “I  can  well  remember  the  Cassandra-like  prophe- 
cies as  to  what  would  take  place  when  the  Contagious 
Diseases  Acts  were  abolished,  and  the  woeful  predictions 
of  the  devastating  scourge  of  venereal  diseases  which  would 
result  therefrom,  and  I confess  that  I myself  was  one  of 
the  prophets  of  evil.  But  time  has  proved  these  surmises 
to  be  fallacious,  for  since  the  repeal  of  the  Acts  the  amount 
of  disease  is  less,  as  may  he  seen  by  statistics,  and  the  type 
of  disease  is  milder,  as  may  be  proved  by  observation.'^ 

Summary  op  Attitudes  op  Countries: — A few  words 
may  be  added  as  to  the  present  position  in  different  coun- 
tries. 

“In  Norway  and  Denmark  ihepolice  des  moeurshas  been 
abolished,  but  some  of  its  powers  appear  to  have  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  ordinary  police.  Dr.  Pontoppidan,  the  Danish 
specialist,  says  that  as  regards  compulsory  treatment  the 


138 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


law  has  always  been  a dead  letter,  and  that  its  rigid  en- 
forcement would  only  defeat  its  own  object,  by  frightening 
patients  away  from  medical  treatment. 

In  Italy  a complete  system  of  gratuitous  treatment  in 
dispensaries  and  hospitals  for  all  venereal  patients  has 
paved  the  way  for  the  abolition  of  the  entire  system  of 
police  control  over  the  women. 

In  France  the  Extra-Parliamentary  Commission  ap- 
pointed by  the  Ministry  of  M.  Combes,  and  continued  under 
that  of  M.  Clemenceau,  reported  in  favour  of  the  abolition 
of  the  police  des  moeurs  and  the  initiation  of  a series  of 
measures  for  the  prevention  of  juvenile  prostitution,  the 
punishment  of  procuration,  etc. 

In  Germany  an  influential  Prophylactic  Society  exists 
under  the  leadership  of  Professor  Neisser  and  Dr.  Blasehko ; 
but  here,  too,  opinions  are  divided.  Dr.  Blasehko  relying 
chiefly  on  instruction  and  individual  prophylaxis,  accom- 
panied by  social  amelioration,  and  Professor  Neisser  and 
others  urging  the  re-introduction  of  the  “maison  toleree,” 
which  has  so  signally  failed  in  France  and  Belgium,  and 
which  was  abolished  in  Germany  many  years  ago.”^ 

In  Russia  an  important  Congress  has  condemned  the 
Regulation  system;  in  Germany  the  Duchy  of  Baden  has 
not  only  declared  for  suppression  instead  of  Regulation, 
hut  has  officially  asked  for  the  appointment  of  an  Im- 
perial Commission  which  is  to  include  iv ell-qualified  w'omen. 

This  brief  review  of  these  international  conferences 
offers  to  the  world  the  striking  fact  that,  after  genera- 
tions of  trial,  under  numerous  forms  of  regulation,  the 
best  interpretation  of  the  present  mind  of  medical  ex- 


^Shield,  London,  England,  Oct,  1900. 


Weighed  in  the  Balance 


139 


perts  and  official  heads  show,  that  even  the  most  ardent 
advocates  of  the  system  are  in  doubt  as  to  the  ad- 
vantages achieved,  while  the  preponderating  opinions  of 
the  ablest  physicians  and  experts  of  the  world  are,  that 
the  whole  system  of  regulation  is  a complete  failure,  and 
that  it  is  fast  tottering  into  discredit  and  disuse,  to  be 
followed  by  the  more  humane,  common  sense,  and 
ethical  law  of  discouragement  and  suppression  of  com- 
mercialized vice,  and  the  substitution  of  education  and 
abundant  provision  for  medical  treatment  of  venereal 
patients,  without  regard  to  sex. 

The  English  “Lancet,”  one  of  the  most  influential 
medical  journals  of  the  world,  (which  in  former  years 
was  a strong  defender  of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts) 
in  reporting  the  Belgium  Congress  of  1902,  said:  “It 
is  evident  that  many  of  those  who  have  hitherto  been 
in  favor  of  the  Regulation  system,  and  have  relied  upon 
that  for  the  prophylaxis  of  venereal  disease,  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  not  been  productive  of  any 
marked  diminution  in  the  amount  of  such  disease,  and 
that  other  steps  must  be  taken  with  a view  of  mitigating 
the  evil.” 


“We  are  now  a mighty  nation.  We  are  thirty  mil- 
lions of  people,  and  we  own  about  a fifteenth  part  of 
the  whole  earth.  We  have  among  us,  perhaps  half  our 
people— who  have  come  from  Europe — Germans,  Irish, 
French  and  Scandinavians — men  that  have  come  them- 
selves, or  whose  ancestors  have  come  hither  and  settled 
here,  finding  themselves  our  equals  in  all  things.  When 
they  look  through  that  old  Declaration  of  Independence 
they  find  that  those  old  men  (the  early  pioneers)  say 
that  ‘we  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal’;  and  then  they  feel  that  moral 
sentiment  taught  in  that  day  evidences  their  relation 
to  those  men,  that  it  is  the  father  of  all  moral  principle 
in  them,  and  that  they  have  a right  to  claim  it  as  though 
they  were  blood  of  the  blood  and  flesh  of  the  flesh 
of  the  man  who  wrote  that  Declaration,  and  so  they 
are.  That  is,  the  electric  cord  in  the  Declaration  links 
the  hearts  of  patriotic  and  liberty-loving  men  together, 
that  will  link  those  patriotic  hearts  as  long  as  the  love 
of  freedom  exists  in  the  minds  of  men  throughout  the 
world.’’ — Abraham  Lincoln. 

We  may  be  sure  that  when  Lincoln  spoke  of  the 
“nation  of  thirty  millions  of  people’’  he  realized  that 
about  one-half  of  them  were  women;  and  now  that  the 
nation  numbers  over  ninety  millions  of  people,  it  is  still 
a nation  of  one-half  women.  And  every  woman,  equally 
with  every  man,  is  linked  in  the  “electric  cord’’  in  that 
declaration  of  equality. — Ed. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  WRONGS  AND  TYRANNY  OF  THE  LEGAL- 
IZED SYSTEM. 

“Laws  are  intended,  not  to  trust  to  what  men  will  do, 
but  to  guard  against  what  they  may  do.” — Junius. 

Attention  has  been  given,  in  some  quarters,  to  the  vice 
^ problem  in  its  hygienic  aspects,  not  too  much,  but  too  ex- 
clusively. 

If  the  facts  of  modern  history  Avere  reversed,  i.e.  if  it 
could  have  been  shown  that,  under  the  regulation  system, 
the  volume  of  venereal  diseases  had  been  lessened,  in- 
stead of  increased,  there  would  still  be  standing  against 
it,  among  other  wrongs,  its  harsh,  unjust,  and  unequal 
treatment  of  the  weak,  for  the  supposed  benefit  or  pleasure 
of  the  strong. 

An  equal  standard  of  law  and  equal  standard  of  morals 
are  the  common  rights  of  all  people. 

As  the  late  Prof.  James  Stuart,  M.  P.  said:  “Of  all 
things  in  this  world,  there  is  nothing  which  is  so  desirable 
as  justice.  It  is  more  difficult  to  act  justly  than  to  act 
mercifully  or  benevolently,  and  more  good  is  done  in  the 
long  run  by  justice  than  by  anything  else.  The  poorer 
and  meaner  any  group  of  people  the  more  necessary  it  is 
that  they  should  be  treated  justly.  No  man  and  no  woman 
can  ever  shut  themselves  out  of  the  pale  of  justice,  how- 
ever erring,  however  degraded  they  may  be. 

‘ ‘ Every  great  battle  between  right  and  wrong  has  really 


142 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


been  one  between  justice  and  injustice.  I think,  there- 
fore, that,  among  the  touchstones  by  which  any  system  may 
be  tested,  one  of  the  most  immediate  and  decisive  is  the 
question,  ‘ Is  it  just  or  is  it  unjust  V Is  it  equal  as  between 
men  and  women,  is  it  equal  as  between  the  rich  and  the 
poor?” 

Perhaps  the  most  grievous  of  all  forms  of  injustice  is 
tliat  which  denies  protection  to  the  honor  of  young  girls. 

Our  laws  are  absolutely  weak,  and  the  interpreters  and 
administrators  of  law  in  our  common  courts  are  corre- 
spondingly weak  and  indifferent  on  this  subject. 

Lavinia  L.  Dock,  in  her  excellent  book,  “Hygiene  and 
Morality,”  reminds  us  that  “No  American  state  took  any* 
steps  towards  raising  the  age  of  consent  until  1864”  and 
that  since  that  date,  as  a general  thing,  where  the  age  has 
been  raised  because  of  the  persistent  demand  of  women,  the 
penalty  has  been  lessened.  Arkansas,  for  example,  raised 
the  protection  age  from  12  to  16,  in  1893.  But  the  penalty, 
which  was  not  less  than  five  years,  nor  more  than  25  years, 
was  reduced  to  one  year.  Alabama  and  Delaware  have  fol- 
lowed the  method  of  making  the  punishment  more  severe 
when  the  female  is  under  10  to  12  years,  and  lighter,  be- 
tween the  age  of  14  and  16  years.  Georgia  is  reported  to 
have  no  statute  which  exactly  covers  the  case.  These  are 
fair  examples  of  the  careless  indifference  of  our  laws  in 
regard  to  child  protection.^ 

The  result  has  been  practically  to  encourage  criminal 
outrage  upon  young  girls.  Of  the  eases  of  rape,  only  a 
few  are  ever  brought  to  trial,  and  of  those  that  are,  the 
ages  of  the  victims  are  rarely  above  17,  and  more  often, 
below  15.  Of  25  cases  of  comdction  for  rape  in  New  York, 


‘Chart  of  Laws  etc.,  Appendix. 


Wrongs  and  Tyranny 


148 


from  January  1 to  June  30,  1909,  one  of  the  child  victims 
was  aged  7 ; one,  11 ; two  were  12 ; two  were  14 ; five  were 
15 ; seven  were  16 ; the  remainder  were  17.  The  crimes 
were  committed  by  two  boys  of  18 ; two  of  19 ; and  the  rest 
were  men  of  varied  ages,  from  21  to  54. 

The  system  of  regulating  the  trade  in  vice,  whether  by 
law,  ordinance,  or  official  practice,  rests  upon  a theory 
which  is  wholly  at  variance  with  this  principle  of  equality 
and  justice.  Not  only  is  this  system  one-sided  and  grossly 
unjust  in  practice;  it  furnishes  no  security  or  protection 
for  the  innocent  and  weak.  It  is  to  the  everlasting  dis- 
credit of  the  United  States  that,  until  1864,  “no  American 
state  took  any  steps  toward  raising  the  age  of  consent” 
and  where,  because  of  the  persistent  demand  of  women,  the 
age  has  been  raised,  penalties  have  been  lessened.^ 

Of  the  crimes  of  rape  only  a few  are  ever  brought  to 
trial  and  of  those  that  are,  the  ages  of  victims  are  rarely 
above  seventeen  and  more  often  below  fifteen.  Of  25  cases 
of  conviction  for  rape  in  New  York,  from  January  1,  1909, 
to  June  30,  1909,  one  of  the  child  victims  was  aged  seven, 
one  eleven,  two  were  twelve,  two  were  fourteen,  five  were 
fifteen,  seven  were  sixteen,  and  the  remainder  were  seven- 
teen. The  crimes  were  committed  by  two  boys  of  eighteen, 
two  of  nineteen,  and  the  rest  were  men  whose  ages  varied 
from  twenty-one  to  fifty-four. 

The  old  English  Magna  Charta,  which  is  the  basis  of 
our  criminal  law,  provides  that: 

“Ao  Freeman  shall  he  taken,  or  imprisoned,  or  dis- 
seized, or  outlawed,  or  anyways  destroyed,  nor  will  we  pass 
upon  him,  unless  hy  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  hy 
the  law  of  the  land.  We  will  sell  to  no  man,  we  will  not 


^See  Hygiene  and  Morality,  by  Lavinia  L.  Dock. 


144 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


deny  to  any  man,  either  justice  or  right.”  Clause  39,  40 
King  John’s  Charter. 

Blackstone  and  Coke,  and  all  great  American  authori- 
ties, agree  that  these  clauses  of  the  charter  are  the  most 
important  bulwark  of  our  liberties,  and  DeLolme,  the  emin- 
ent authority  on  constitutional  law,  says  “it  was  one  of 
the  articles  of  Magna  Charta,  that  the  executive  power 
should  not  touch  the  person  of  the  subject,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  a judgment  passed  upon  him  by  his  peers. 

“Power  without  right”  remarked  a British  statesman, 
“is  the  most  odious  object  that  can  be  offered  to  the  human 
imagination.  It  is  not  only  pernicious  to  those  who  are 
subject  to  it,  but  it  tends  to  its  own  destruction.  Tyranny 
is  detestable  in  every  shape,  but  in  none  so  formidable  as 
when  it  is  assumed  by  a number  of  tyrants.  ’ ’ 

Let  legislators  ponder  these  fundamental  terms,  when 
they  are  tempted  to  adopt  measures  that  would  place  the 
liberty  and  honor  of  women  in  the  hands  of  irresponsible 
men,  and  let  the  “city  fathers”  of  every  city  think  weU 
before  they  invest  the  police  with  power  to  control,  pursue 
and  impose  penalties  of  plunder  and  prison  on  defense- 
less girls  and  women. 

In  discussing  the  European  system,  Mrs.  Josephine  But- 
ler pointed  out  that  the  enforcement  of  the  system  always 
involved  the  danger  of  doing  irreparable  injury  to  inno- 
cent women.  She  asks : ‘ ‘ Can  it  be  supposed  that  we  are 
so  blind  as  ever  to  be  able  to  fancy  that  it  is  impossible 
that  under  this  law,  an  innocent  woman  may  be  accused? 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  obvious  that  the  question  of  a woman ’s 
honor  is  one  in  which  mistaken  accusations  are  peculiarly 
likely  to  occur  * * * We  ought  never  to  forget  that  the  very 


•De  Lolme  on  the  Constitution,  p.  354. 


Wrongs  and  Tyranny  145 

fact  of  jury  trial,  which  guards  the  person  wrongfully  ac- 
cused, does  itself  also,  more  than  any  other  thing,  pre- 
vent such  wrong  accusations.  Nor  is  there  any  accusa- 
tion so  likely  to  be  multiplied  by  the  absence  of  trial  by 
jury  as  that  against  woman’s  honor.” 

That  Mrs.  Butler  did  not  name  a merely  imaginary 
danger  is  a matter  of  serious  record.  We  have  spoken,  in 
these  pages,  of  Mrs.  Percy  of  Aldershot,  England,  who  chose 
death  rather  than  submit,  and  a number  of  others  are  rec- 
orded in  “An  Address  to  Members  of  the  American  Legis- 
lature and  Medical  Profession”  sent  to  this  country  in 
1877  by  the  British  Federation  for  the  abolition  of  State 
Regulation  of  Prostitution. 

Dr.  Barr  of  Aldershot,  an  Examining  Surgeon,  under 
the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  said  in  answer  to  a question 
by  a member  of  a Parlimentary  Committee,  that  the  class 
of  persons  to  be  suspected  for  purposes  of  registration 
were  “milliners  and  dressmakers,  laborers’  wives,  the  wives 
of  small  tradesmen,  and  domestic  servants,  of  course.” 

And  so,  this  doctor, — a fair  example  of  the  class  of 
the  specialists  who  advocated  and  carried  out  the  provisions 
of  the  system — regarded  “married  women  and  domestic 
servants  of  course,”  as  fit  subjects  to  suspect  and  bring 
under  a law,  against  which  they  had  no  appeal,  and  which, 
to  many  of  them  was  worse  than  death,  even  although 
they  may  have  been  irregular  in  habits  and,  like  the  men 
who  sought  them — unchaste. 

In  an  ably  written  life-story,  which  appeared  in  book 
form,  in  New  York  in  1895,  the  writer  who  confesses  her- 
self “a  member  of  the  underworld”  and  dedicates  her 
writing  “To  my  sister  outcasts  everywhere,”  says: 

“Judgment  Day  has  come  for  the  violators  of  the 


146 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


seventh  holy  law.  While  it  takes  two,  one  man  and  one 
woman,  to  break  the  law,  but  one,  the  woman,  is  held 
responsible  and  haled  to  judgment,  and  the  man  is  left,  as 
from  the  beginning,  free  in  his  independence  to  break  all 
(the  laws)  he  cares  to,  that  one  included  * * * Let  it  be 
frankly  acknowledged  that  we,  the  fallen  outcasts,  are 
not  sinners  above  those  who  make  us  so,  because  on  us 
alone  judgment  has  fallen;  and  let  it  go  forth  that  in  this 
new  endeavor  to  destroy  evil,  punish  the  guilty,  lift  up  the 
fallen,  and  inaugurate  millenium  happiness,  there  shall  be 
no  discrimination  between  the  parties  to  the  guilt,  and  one 
step  forward  will  be  taken  toward  finding  the  waj'  to  a 
wiser  method  of  abatement,  regulation,  or  suppression  than 
has  at  any  time,  among  the  sons  of  men,  prevailed.”^ 

But  a demand  for  justice  in  the  treatment  of  this  social 
cancer  comes  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The  greatest 
authority  among  the  defenders  of  the  French  system,  a 
quarter  of  a century  ago,  was  Dr.  Chas.  Mauriac  of  Paris. 
At  that  time  Dr.  Mauriac  stated  that  there  was  more 
safety  for  immoral  women  in  regulated  houses  than  any- 
where. It  was  he  who  spoke  of  the  legalized  brothel  as 
“the  palladium  of  public  safety.” 

Wholly  different  is  the  tone  of  his  book,  written  after 
twenty  years  of  experience  of  the  system.  He  stands  now 
as  the  logical  and  uncompromising  opponent  of  specializ- 
ing legislation  against  woman.  So  clear  and  striking  are  his 
arguments  that  they  have  been  copied  and  circulated 
largely  in  Europe.  He  says : ‘ ‘ For  ages  past,  efforts  have 
been  made  to  ensure  the  execution  of  regulations  to  pre- 
vent propagation  of  venereal  maladies.  It  has  been  found 
impossible  to  accomplish  this  task  without  a permanent 


i“Soclal  Damnation,”  Louise  Tresscote. 


Wrongs  and  Tyranny 


147 


outrage  on  personal  liberty,  which  has  been  more  or  less 
arbitrarily  sacrificed  in  invoking  the  supreme  law.  Woman 
has  always  been  the  victim  of  these  coercive  measures.  In 
this  case,  as  in  many  others,  Force  has  dominated  Eight. 
With  a revolting  injustice,  and  a ferocious  egotism,  man 
has  condemned  the  woman.  He  has  caused  all  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  evils  caused  by  prostitution,  and  its 
consequent  diseases,  to  weigh  upon  woman. 

“It  is  monstrous  that  every  woman  who  makes  a com- 
merce of  her  person  should  be  submitted  to  a species  of 
slavery,  to  certain  measures  which  pretend  to  control  the 
quality  of  the  merchandise,  and  to  protect  the  consumer. 
The  consumer,  however,  in  the  first  place,  is  able  to  pro- 
tect himself  in  the  most  efficacious  fashion  possible;  that 
is  to  say,  by  not  consuming.  And  again,  why  not  re- 
strain the  consumer  by  certain  obligations  and  measures 
which  in  turn  will  guarantee  the  merchandise?  Will  you 
ever  do  it?  Never.  How  many  abject  creatures  among 
men  are  more  dangerous  than  women  ? It  is  hardly  believed 
how  much  there  is  of  baseness,  perversity,  and  absence  of 
all  principle  existing  among  certain  beings,  who  constitute 
a social  calamity  more  degrading  and  repulsive  than  the 
worst  of  women  prostitutes.  And  yet  you  respect  these 
persons?  No  one  dares  to  limit  their  freedom,  nor  to  per- 
suade them  to  remain  a single  day  more  than  they  wish 
in  a hospital,  still  less  to  detain  them  by  force.  But  all 
this  comes  quite  naturally  in  the  case  of  women,  and  these 
measures  in  their  case  are  considered  as  very  mitigated 
measures.  Why  are  not  decrees  and  coercive  measures 
enacted  against  all  the  Knights  of  venereal  industry? — 
procurers  and  souteneurs,  who  form  such  a dangerous  army, 
exploiters  of  women  under  every  name,  the  combinatori 


148 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


who  are  so  numerous  in  Italy,  and  all  that  indecent  mascu- 
line personality  of  prostitution?”^ 

This  is  class  legislation  with  vengeance.  Can  anyone 
think  a more  heinous  and  one-sided  practice  in  law  than 
this,  which  regards  one  of  two  parties  to  the  same  act  as 
guilty  of  crime  to  be  treated  as  condemned  without  trial, 
and  often  with  no  other  evidence  than  that  of  suspicion; 
while  the  other  is  not  even  accused,  or  regarded  as  guilty 
of  any  wrong? 

It  recalls  the  strange  company  which  assembled  before 
Jesus  Christ  with  an  accusation  against  a woman.  That  com- 
pany of  men  brought  a woman  “taken,”  they  said, “in  adul- 
tery, in  the  very  act.”  They  did  not  bring  the  man  or  men- 
tion him  as  a party  to  the  wrong.  What  Jesus  wrote  may 
be  easily  imagined.  The  one  redeeming  incident  in  the 
conduct  of  the  men  was  that  they  read  that  writing  on  the 
ground  and  heard  the  words  of  Jesus,  “He  that  is  without 
sin  among  you,  let  him  first  cast  a stone  at  her.”  They 
were  conscience  stricken  and  went  out,  one  by  one,  begin- 
ing  at  the  eldest,  even  unto  the  last.”  John  8:9. 


^Treatment  de  la  Syphilis.  Paris,  1896. 


“Men  who  indulge  in  base  vice  lose  the  fine  quality 
of  conscience  without  knowing  it.  First  goes  the  power 
to  blush;  then  comes  levity,  the  coarseness,  the  positive 
delight  in  obscenity,  which  shocks  the  right-minded.  The 
roue  loses  faith  in  the  purity  of  women  and  of  men,  and 
judges  the  world  by  himself.  It  is  simply  inconceivable 
to  him  that  anyone  can  be  other  than  the  debased  and 
polluted  creature  which  he  has  valuntarily  made  him- 
self.”— Dr.  G.  F.  Lydston,  “The  Diseases  of  Society.” 

“Men  have  no  criterion  to  judge  of  purity  or  good- 
ness but  woman.  Some  portion  of  this  purity  and  good- 
ness always  adheres  to  woman,  even  though  she  may 
lapse  from  virtue;  she  makes  a willing  sacrifice  of  her- 
self on  the  altar  of  affection,  and  thinks  only  of  him  for 
whom  it  is  made ; while  men  think  of  themselves 
alone.” — Byron. 

Chastity  is  the  flowering  of  man;  and  what  are  called 
Genius,  Heroism,  Holiness,  and  the  like,  are  but  fruits 
which  succeed  it.  Man  flows  at  once  to  God  when  the 
channel  of  purity  is  open.  By  turns  our  purity  inspires 
and  our  impurity  casts  us  down.  He  is  blessed  who  is 
assured  that  the  animal  is  dying  out  in  him,  day  by  day, 
and  the  Divine  being  established. — Henry  Thoreau. 

Since  things  spontaneously  change  for  the  worse,  if 
they  be  not  by  design  changed  for  the  better,  evils  must 
accumulate  without  end. — Lord  Bacon. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


PLUNDER  AND  GRAFT. 

Among  the  worst  of  the  fruits  of  the  regulation  system 
is  the  plunder  and  graft  which  invariably  attend  it.  It 
has  perverted  politicians  and  police.  There  are,  of  course, 
politicians  and  policemen  who  are  above  the  bait  of  bawdy 
house  spoils;  but  wherever  license,  registration  or  police 
rule  are  substituted  for  law,  there  is  also  the  graft  that  is 
drawn  from  the  very  bodies  and  souls  of  women  who  have 
been  debauched  through  poverty,  seduced  by  passion  or 
enslaved  by  force,  for  gold.  In  every  large  city,  the  bosses 
of  certain  wards  or  election  precincts  control  the  ballot  by 
fraud.  Not  only  is  the  price  paid  out  of  the  earnings  of 
the  poor,  degraded  girls  of  the  red-light  district,  but  the 
gangs  who  control  them — traffickers  who  own  them— and 
the  pimps  who  entrap  them,  are  the  tools  of  the  bosses; 
and  the  police  who  are  supposed  to  be  the  servants  of  the 
people,  are  in  the  pay  of  the  system.  We  have  seen  that 
the  vice  graft  of  New  York  reached  colossal  proportions  for 
a number  of  years,  under  Tammany  rule.  McClure’s  Mag- 
azine published  an  exposure  of  the  Common  Council  of 
1871,  which  became  known  as  the  “Forty  Thieves,”  and  in 
1865-1871  “the  city  was  robbed  of  about  $200,000,000  by 
Tammany,  while  under  the  rule  of  ‘Boss  Tweed.’  ” In  1892 
revenue  from  vice  assumed  great  proportions  in  that  city. 
“The  estimated  annual  blackmail  by  the  Tammany  police 
alone”  was  $7,000,000.  Ex-Police  Commissioner  Bingham 
estimated  that  in  1910,  from  1,500  to  2,000  members  of  the 


152 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


police  force  were  as  unscrupulous  as  grafters  ‘ ‘ whose  hands 
are  always  out  for  easy  money.”  The  same  authority  de- 
clares in  Hampton’s  Magazine,  in  November,  1910,  that 
“The  fining  system  is  the  most  prolific  source  of  police 
graft  in  existence,”  and  says:  “It  is  always  easier  and 
cheaper  for  the  woman  to  pay  bribe  money  than  to  go  to 
a court,  so  she  or  her  protector  sound  out  a new  man  on 
a beat,  or  a new  captain  in  a station.  If  he  shows  a dis- 
position to  treat  with  them,  they  pay  always  in  advance.” 

How  It  Was  Done  in  New  York: — The  Committee  of 
Fourteen  reporting  on  “The  Social  Evil  in  New  York,” 
in  1910,  says:  “In  addition  to  this  the  main  body  of  the 
force  are  continually  subject  to  the  temptation  of  doing 
‘favors’  for  friends  among  politicians  and  others  w’ho 
are  interested  in  the  business  of  prostitution.  The  follow- 
ing illustrations  are  given : A policeman  had  been  sta- 
tioned for  several  months  in  front  of  a notorious  disorder- 
ly house,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  evidence  and  warn- 
ing prospective  patrons  from  entering  the  premises.  One 
night  a man  walked  up  to  the  door  of  this  house  and  the 
warning  he  received  was  that  his  visit  would  probably  cost 
him  $20. 

“It  is  alleged  that  in  May,  1908,  an  officer  was  detailed 
to  watch  three  disorderly  houses  in  one  block.  The  pro- 
prietors of  these  houses  made  up  a purse  of  $300,  which 
was  turned  over  to  a business  man  on  8th  Avenue.  This 
money  was  for  the  purpose  of  having  an  order  issued  to  re- 
move the  officer  from  duty  in  front  of  these  houses.  With- 
in forty-eight  hours  the  order  was  issued,  and  the  officer 
was  transferred  to  Broadway. 

“Although  the  records  show  that  a number  of  places 
were  not  reported,  no  police  officers  have  been  tried  on 
charges  of  neglect  of  duty  for  failure  to  report  these  places 


Plunder  and  Graft 


153 


According  to  the  reports  published  in  the  ‘Chief/  5,444 
police  officers  were  tried  on  charges  from  September  1, 
1908,  to  February  28,  1909,  the  period  covered  by  the  re- 
ports of  the  police  precinct  captains.  Not  one  was  for  fail- 
ure to  report  a disorderly  place.  A study  of  500  con- 
secutive cases  showed  that  40  per  cent,  were  for  absence 
from  post  and  10  per  cent,  for  absence  from  roll  call.  Such 
offenses  as  failure  to  report  a dead  cat  appeared,  but  none 
relating  to  the  protection  from  vice. 

“Such  conditions  could  not  have  existed  in  defiance  of 
the  laws  except  through  the  payment  of  protection  money, 
through  favors  shown  politicians  interested  in  houses  of 
this  character,  and  through  political  preferment  of  lawyers, 
magistrates  and  judges,  and  other  rewards.  In  a recent 
interview  a collector  for  the  police  in  the  ‘Tenderloin’ 
during  the  period  described,  stated  that  the  amounts  paid 
by  the  large  houses  varied  from  $400  to  $600  per  month. 
As  an  illustration,  the  amounts  paid  each  month  hy  a pro- 
prietor of  a house  on  27th  Street,  which  contained  thirty 
women  were  as  follows:  Plain  clothes  men  $205;  patrol- 
men $184;  inspectors  $100;  sergeants  in  plain  clothes  $40; 
sergeants  in  uniform  $50;  total  $529.  In  general,  money 
paid  for  protection  was  distributed  about  as  follows : 
Policemen  on  post  from  8 A.  M.  to  2 P.  M.  $1.00,  from  2 
P.  iff.,  to  8 P.  M.,  $2.00,  from  8 P.  M.  to  2 A.  M.,  $2.00.” 

In  November,  1900,  Bishop  Potter  published  a ringing 
letter,  openly  denouncing  the  governing  forces  of  New 
York,  and  said:  “When  a minister  of  religion  goes  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  police  to  appeal  to  them  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  young,  the  innocent  and  defenseless,  against 
the  leprous  harpies  who  are  hired  as  runners  and  touters 
for  the  lowest  and  most  infamous  dens  of  vice,  he  has  met. 


154 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


not  only  with  contempt  and  derision  (of  police  officials) 
but  with  the  coarsest  insult  and  obloquy.” 

The  graft  scandal  of  San  Francisco  was  one  of  the 
most  startling  revelations  that  has  ever  been  published. 
The  city  was  held  up  for  robbery  and  plunder  by  its  own 
government.  Mayor  Schmitz,  with  the  aid  of  Keuch,  a 
corrupt  city  lawyer,  made  appointments  of  men  to  nearly 
all  the  chief  offices  of  the  city,  who  were  obedient  partners 
in  the  gigantic  swindle.  In  1904  three  of  the  officials 
“conceived  the  idea  of  opening  a big  house  of  prostitution 
in  Chinatown  and  running  it  under  the  secret  protection, 
if  not  under  the  auspices,  of  the  municipal  administration. 
After  making  a partnership  arrangement  with  Schmidt  and 
Reuch,  they  purchased  an  old  three-story  Chinese  opium 
joint,  which  was  known  to  frequenters  of  the  Barbary  Coast 
as  the  ‘ ‘ Palace  Hotel.  ’ ’ As  the  building  was  not  adapted  to 
their  purposes  and  as  it  would  cost  a good  deal  to  tear  it  down 
they  had  it  condemned  by  the  Board  of  Health,  as  “un- 
sanitary,” and  then  got  the  Board  of  Public  Works  to  de- 
molish and  remove  it,  at  the  city’s  expense.  Upon  the  site 
thus  obtained  they  erected,  at  a cost  of  $100,000,  a large 
brick  building,  containing  144  two-room  apartments,  col- 
loquially known  as  “cribs.”  These  cribs  were  run  as 
brothels  and  the  women  who  occupied  them  “paid  rent  at 
the  rate  of  $35.00  per  week  for  each  apartment ; and  the 
gross  receipts  of  the  house,  including  the  earnings  of  its 
inmates,  were  probably  not  less  than  $500,000  a year. 

The  system  was  also  a tremendous  agent  in  the  hands  of 
blackmailers.  In  Europe,  under  the  license  system,  not 
only  women  prostitutes,  but  virtuous  women,  sometimes  ac- 
companied by  their  husbands  or  sweethearts,  have  been 
grossly  insulted  and  blackmailed.  The  whole  of  the  black 


Plunder  and  Graft 


155 


catalogue  of  these  monstrous  wrongs  has  never  been  re- 
corded and  never  will  be  known. 

“Thieves  for  their  rohhery  have  authority 

When  judges  steal  themselves.”  Measure  for  Measure. 

Once  in  a while  a quarrel  occurs  in  the  thieves’  castle 
and  a window  pane  is  placed  in  the  wall.  Once  in  a while, 
too,  one  of  the  thieves  finds  that  his  conscience  is  not  dead, 
and  a whole  dark  chapter  of  crimes  are  written — crimes 
that  are  so  black  that  the  highway  robber  on  the  way  to 
Jericho  was  himself  a good  Samaritan  in  comparison.  Many 
abuses  have  been  reported,  especially  under  the  European 
system.  In  America  there  are  also  numerous  instances 
of  the  system  which  forces  blackmail,  directly  or  in- 
directly, from  the  price  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  young 
girls.  At  the  door  of  an  infamous  house  in  Custom  House 
Place,  Chicago,  before  the  red-light  district  was  driven 
further  south,  a policeman  was  stationed  on  a certain  occa- 
sion. The  keeper  of  the  house  was  asked  why  the  officer 
was  at  the  door.  The  answer  was:  “0,  to  scare  folks 
away.”  “Why?  What’s  up?  I thought  you  were  pro- 
tected. ’ ’ Further  inquiry  revealed  the  fact  that  the  woman 
had  been  taxed  $1.00  each  for  500  tickets  for  the  First 
Ward  ball,  and  that  on  refusal  to  “stand  for  it,”  she 
found  an  officer  placed  at  her  door  and  she  supposed  he 
would  not  be  removed  until  she  paid  the  money. 

On  January  23,  1911,  Brolaski,  a converted  gambler, 
told  a story  at  a meeting  in  Chicago  called  together  by  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  in  the  First  Methodist  Church.  The  story  was 
printed  in  full  in  the  next  day ’s  Chicago  Tribune.  Perhaps 
ail  the  details  of  the  story  could  not  have  been  given  as 
Court  testimony.  But  it  has  been  told,  with  all  detail  of 
names  and  circumstances,  so  plainly,  and  so  fully,  that  the 


156 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ridicule  with  which  it  is  said  to  have  been  received  in  offi- 
cial circles,  does  not  shake  it  from  public  acceptance  as  a 
general  statement  of  actual  facts. 

The  Minneapolis  Vice  Commission,  in  its  able  report 
quotes  the  following  from  Dr.  Dock’s  work  on  “Hygiene 
and  Morality:’’ 

(1)  “It  corrupts  and  demoralizes  the  police  and  offers  end- 
less opportunities  for  blackmail  and  extortion.  Here  it  may  be 
emphasized  that  although  there  is  in  the  United  States  no  official 
recognition  of  vice,  yet  there  is  blackmail  and  extortion  because 
the  police  in  many  cities,  under  the  pressure  of  corrupt  social 
elements,  have  developed  a system  of  protection  for  vice  which 
approaches  closely  to  an  official  alliance  with  it. 

(2)  “It  exposes  innocent  women  to  persecution.  Numerous 
instances  of  this  kind  are  on  record.  Respectable  girls  have 
been  reported  to  the  police  from  motives  of  revenge,  and  self- 
supporting  women  have  been  driven  from  positions  and  their 
property  manipulated  away  from  them.  Cases  have  been  known 
where  such  victims  have  been  driven  to  suicide. 

(3)  “Regulation  bears  with  special  hardship  on  the  poorest 
women.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  only  the  very  poor  and  de- 
fenceless are  exposed  to  its  full  horrors.  The  fact  that  immoral 
women  who  are  able  to  command  ample  means  are  safe  against 
the  severities  of  the  law  has  been  frequently  mentioned  by 
writers  belonging  to  different  countries.” 

In  Europe,  where  the  system  has  so  long  prevailed,  this 
form  of  outrage  grew  to  such  proportions  as  to  menace 
the  safety  of  people  in  the  public  streets.  A few  such  cases 
are  cited: 

“Berlin,  1872. — The  Berlin  correspondent  of  the  Lon- 
don Daily  Telegraph,  October  26,  1872,  says  that  arrests 
of  virtuous  women  are  made  there  every  day  and  night 
by  policemen  in  plain  clothes,  and  they  are  threatened 
with  being  sent  to  prison  on  the  charge  of  being  ‘ no  better 


Plunder  and  Graft 


157 


than  they  should  be,’  unless  they  give  the  policeman  a 
bribe  to  let  them  off.” 

“Lille,  1873. — The  London  Daily  News,  February  12, 
1873,  gives  an  account  of  a gang  of  ruffians  who  had  just 
been  discovered  in  that  city.  They  had  assumed  an  official 
costume,  and  under  the  pretence  of  being  ‘special  police’ 
had  during  four  years  levied  blackmail  upon  men  and 
compelled  young  women  to  submit  to  their  desires  under 
the  threat  of  placing  the  women  on  the  register  of  prosti- 
tutes if  they  refused.  A German  youth  and  his  sweet- 
heart resisted.  The  man  was  killed,  but  the  woman  es- 
caped and  gave  the  alarm,  and  the  gang  of  about  20  men 
were  eventually  arrested.  The  leader  boasted  that  during 
these  four  years  500  Lille  women  had  thus  submitted  to 
him  and  his  accomplices.” 

“England,  1872.— The  Times,  April  10,  1872,  gives 
the  report  of  the  conviction  at  Canterbury  of  a man  for 
extorting  money  from  a young  man  and  his  female  com- 
panion on  the  threat  of  charging  her  with  being  a prostitute, 
saying  that  he  was  a policeman  under  the  C.  D.  Acts.  The 
Government  prosecuted,  because  “such  cases  were  of  fre- 
quent occurrence.”  The  prisoner  was  sentenced  to  five 
years  penal  servitude. 


“Society  must  be  relieved  by  sound  instruction  of  the 
horrible  doctrine  that  the  begetting  and  bearing  of  chil- 
dren are  in  the  slightest  degree  sinful  or  foul  processes. 
That  doctrine  lies  at  the  root  of  the  feeling  of  shame  in 
connection  with  these  processes  and  of  the  desire  for 
secrecy.  The  plain  fact  is  that  there  is  nothing  so  sa- 
cred and  propitious  on  earth  as  the  bringing  of  another 
normal  child  into  the  world  in  marriage.  There  is 
nothing  staining  or  defiling  about  it,  and  therefore 
there  is  no  need  for  shame  or  secrecy,  but  only  for  pride 
and  joy.  This  doctrine  should  be  part  of  the  instruction 
given  to  all  young  people.” — Charles  W.  Eliot,  President 
Emeritus,  Harvard  University. 

“So  live  that  your  afterself — the  man  you  ought  to 
be — may  in  his  time  be  possible  and  actual.  Far  away 
in  the  twenties,  the  thirties  of  the  Twentieth  Century, 
he  is  awaiting  his  turn.  His  body,  his  brain,  his  soul 
are  in  your  boyish  hands.  He  cannot  help  himself. 
What  will  you  leave  for  him?  Will  it  be  a brain  un- 
spoiled by  lust  or  dissipation,  a mind  trained  to  think 
and  act,  a nervous  system  true  as  a dial  in  its  response 
to  the  truth  about  you?  Will  you,  boy  of  the  Twentieth 
Century,  let  him  come  as  a man  among  men  in  his  time, 
or  will  you  throw  away  his  inheritance  before  he  has  had 
the  chance  to  touch  it?  Will  you  let  him  come,  taking 
your  place,  gaining  through  your  experience,  hallowed 
through  your  joys,  building  on  them  his  own,  or  will 
you  fling  his  hope  away,  decreeing,  wanton-like,  that  the 
man  you  might  have  been  shall  never  be?” — David  Starr 
Jordan,  Chancellor  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


A VENEREAL  PERIL  IN  AMERICA. 

I. 

THE  GREAT  BLACK  PLAGUE. 

An  Appalling  Inventory. — Based  upon  statements, 
experiences  and  opinions  of  physicians,  public  officials,  and 
other  responsible  citizens  50  to  80  per  cent,  of  all  men,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  18  and  30  years,  contract  gonorrhea. 

10  to  18  per  cent,  of  the  male  population  contract 
syphilis. 

40  to  60  per  cent,  of  all  operations  upon  women  for 
diseases  of  the  generative  organs  result  from  gonorrheal 
infection. 

80  per  cent,  of  the  inflammatory  diseases  peculiar  to 
women  are  a result  of  gonorrheal  infection. 

A large  per  cent,  (some  say  one-half)  of  still-born  and 
premature  deaths  of  children  is  due  to  syphilis. 

25  to  35  per  cent,  of  all  cases  of  insanity  are  caused 
by  syphilis  contracted  years  before. 

15  to  20  per  cent,  of  all  blindness  is  attributed  to  these 
diseases. 

A large  proportion  of  cases  of  apoplexy,  paralysis  and 
sudden  death  is  traceable  directly  to  these  diseases. 

It  would  be  gratifying  indeed  if  we  could  establish  any 
good  grounds  of  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  main 
facts  represented  by  these  statements,  but,  aside  from  cer- 
tain variations,  through  insufficient  or  incorrect  data,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  facts  are  substantially  as  given. 


160 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Such  a catalogue  of  physical  diseases  constitutes  an  indict- 
ment against  the  entire  governing  and  educating  forces  of 
America. 

The  decline  of  nations,  ancient  and  modern,  is  trace- 
able to  the  fact  that  the  physical  stamina  and  health  rapid- 
ly deteriorate  in  proportion  to  the  extravagances  and  in- 
crease of  the  social  evil ; and  degeneracy  sets  in  so  rapidly 
that  any  government  may  well  take  alarm  in  the  presence 
of  such  terrible  facts  as  are  revealed  to  us.  It  may  indeed 
be  said  that,  greater  than  all  other  perils  of  disease,  not 
excluding  that  of  tuberculosis,  is  the  one  prevailing  and 
increasing  evil  known  as  Venereal  Diseases.  As  Dr.  Mor- 
row remarks:  “No  disease  has  such  murderous  influence 
upon  the  offspring  as  syphilis;  no  disease  has  such  a de- 
structive influence  upon  the  health  and  procreative  func- 
tion of  women  as  gonorrhea. — It  is  the  most  widespread 
and  universal  of  all  diseases  in  the  adult  and  male  popula- 
tion. ’ ’ 

That  such  conditions  are  possible,  and  that  the  plague 
is  increasing  in  volume,  rather  than  lessening,  means  in- 
evitable national  degeneracy  and  race  suicide,  to  the  utter 
destruction  and  ultimate  downfall  of  this  great  nation, 
unless  every  force  of  prevention,  regeneration  and  deliver- 
ance can  be  aroused  to  earnest,  united  and  prompt  action. 

That  there  may  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  magnitude  and 
malignancy  of  the  plague  the  following  statements,  and 
authorities,  are  quoted : 

“In  1901  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  New 
York  appointed  a Committee  of  Seven  for  the  ‘Study  of 
Measures  for  the  Prophjdaxis  of  Venereal  Diseases.’  Dr. 
Prince  A.  Morrow  was  Chairman,  and  Dr.  L.  Weiss,  Secre- 
tary. The  report  of  tlie  Committee  was  issued  from  the 


The  Venereal  Peril 


161 


press  of  the  Medical  News,  Dec.  21,  1901.  Circulars  were 
sent  to  4,750  physicians  and  to  all  hospitals,  dispensaries, 
etc.,  in  greater  New  York,  making  inquiry  as  to  the  char- 
acter and  extent  of  venereal  infection.  Six  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  of  these  physicians  answered,  in  a definite 
way,  and  from  their  reports  the  following  facts  are  taken : 

Number  of  cases  of  gonorrhea  reported  for  678  physicians, 
15,038. 

Men;  12,966  (when  sex  was  not  stated  the  male  was  as- 
sumed). 

Women:  1,941.  Pelvic  complications  in  724  cases — nearly  40 
percent. 

Children:  265  Opthalmia.  218  Valvovaginitis.  5 Urethritis. 

Number  of  cases  of  Syphilis  reported,  7,200. 

Men:  5,014. 

Women:  1,657.  Of  this  number  it  would  seem  that  988,  or 
nearly  60  percent,  received  the  infection  from  their 
husbands. 

Children:  61  acquired;  468  hereditary. 

This  does  not  include,  except  in  a very  few  instances, 
the  number  of  children  who  died  at,  or  before  birth.  For 
each  of  the  468  children  with  hereditary  syphilis,  who 
lived,  there  were  probably  five  who  died  at,  or  before  birth, 
record  of  which  is  not  included  in  the  totals  given  here. 

The  678  physicians  reporting  constitutes  about  one- 
seventh  of  the  number  of  physicians  in  New  York.  As- 
suming that  the  other  six-sevenths  would  average  about 
the  same  proportion  of  cases  the  total  number  of  cases  of 
gonorrhea  and  syphilis  treated  in  private  practice  by  New 
York  physicians,  in  one  year,  prior  to  1902,  would  be  ap- 
proximately 162,372  when  the  population  of  the  city  was 
less  than  four  millions.  This  estimate  does  not  take  into 
account  the  cases  treated  by  patent  medicine  venders, 
quacks,  etc. 


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The  World’s  Social  Evil 


In  addition  to  the  reports  from  the  physicians,  forty- 
five  dispensaries  and  charitable  institutions  were  asked  for 
information.  Nine  refused.  Thirty-seven  gave  the  inform- 
ation or  permitted  their  records  to  be  searched. 

The  result  of  this  was  that  the  37  institutions  showed 
14,649  cases  of  gonorrhoea,  7,600  case  of  syphilis,  9,452 
unclassified  venereal  diseases,  making  a total  of  31,708. 

Based  upon  these  reports  the  Committee  estimated 
the  number  of  cases  of  venereal  diseases  in  Greater 
New  York  in  one  year,  prior  to  1911,  at  225,000. 

This  estimate  does  not  include  those  who  came  to  New 
York  and  contracted  the  disease,  but  upon  w'hom  it  did  not 
develop  until  later,  nor  did  it  include  the  number  of  sailors 
who  frequent  the  rough  district  in  the  Bowery. 

The  records  of  the  hospitals  also  abound  with  cases  of 
locomotor  ataxia,  rickets,  cerebral  and  spinal  accidents, 
monoplegias,  hemeplegias,  general  paralysis,  epilepsy,  and 
various  nervous  affections  of  which  syphilis  is  a frequent, 
though  not  always  a contributing  cause. 

COMPARISON  OF  SEVERAL  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES,  WITH 
VENEREAL  DISEASE  FOR  1901  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


Cases 

Deaths 

Venereal  Disease  

..  .225,000 

Measles  

...  12,530 

816 

Diphtheria  

...  11,001 

1,920 

Scarlet  Fever  

...  7,387 

465 

Chicken  Pox  

.. . 1,251 

1 

Small  Pox  

99 

12 

Tuberculosis  

. . . 8,877 

8,154 

The  number  of  deaths  from 

venereal  disease 

could  not 

be  ascertained.  Death  from  these  diseases  is  usually  re- 
corded under  some  medical  term  w’hich  does  not  convey  to 
the  non-medical  public  the  original  cause  of  the  last  illness 
and  death. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


163 


The  following  extracts  from  an  address  of  Dr.  Prince 
A.  Morrow,  published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Sociology, 
July,  1907,  are  of  especial  importance  in  this  connection : 

“With  tuberculosis,  perhaps  even  more  than  tuber- 
culosis, social  diseases,  constitute  the  greatest  social 
scourge  of  our  modern  civilization.  This  class  of 
diseases  has  been  aptly  designated  ‘The  Great  Black 
Plague.’  ” 

“Gonorrhoea  is  liable  to  infect  the  eyes  of  the  child  at 
birth.  Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  ophthalmia  of  the  new 
born,  and  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  all  blindness  is  attributed 
to  gonococcus  infection,  to  say  nothing  of  the  vulvo-vagini- 
tis,  the  arthritis,  and  other  accidental  infections  of  chil- 
dren in  family  life.’’ 

‘ ‘ The  chief  significance  of  these  diseases  as  a social  danger 
comes  from  their  introduction  into  married  life.  It  is  the 
popular  impression  that  they  are  spread  exclusively  through 
illegitimate  sexual  relations.  Unfortunately,  a large  pro- 
portion of  men  contract  these  diseases  at  or  before  the 
marriageable  age.  Many  of  them  marry  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  they  are  bearers  of  contagion  to  their  wives  and 
offspring.  ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Gynecologists  tell  us  that  80  per  cent,  of  the  inflamma- 
tory diseases  peculiar  to  women,  and  50  per  cent,  of  all 
the  operations  performed  by  surgeons  on  the  maternal 
organs  are  the  result  of  gonococcus  infection. 

‘ ‘ One  specific  effect  of  this  disease  upon  the  pelvic  organs 
of  women  is  to  extinguish  the  conceptional  capacity.  It 
is  estimated  that  50  per  cent,  of  gonorrhoeally  infected 
women  are  rendered  permanently  sterile. 

“If  the  wife  is  infected  with  syphilis,  in  addition  to 
the  risks  to  her  individual  health  already  referred  to,  the 
disease  may  be  transmitted  in  full  virulence  to  the  off- 


164 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


spring,  killing  them  outright  or  resulting  in  physical  and 
mental  weaklings.  From  60  to  80  per  cent,  of  syphilitic 
children  die  before  being  born  or  shortly  after  birth. 

“It  would  be  a conservative  estimate  to  state  that  the 
morbidity  from  both  these  infections  (gonorrhoea  and 
syphilis)  would  represent  60  per  cent,  of  the  adult  male 
population  in  this  country.  While  these  diseases  may  occur 
at  any  period  of  life,  they  are  essentially  maladies  of  early 
life.  Probably  60  per  cent,  of  infections  occur  before  the 
twenty-fifth  year. 

“The  significance  of  syphilis  as  a danger  to  health  and 
life  is  not  measured  so  much  by  its  immediate  effects,  as 
by  the  changes  it  sets  up  in  certain  internal  organs  es- 
sential to  life ; such  as  the  brain,  liver,  heart,  and  arterial 
system,  and  which  are  the  direct  cause  of  death  at  a more 
or  less  remote  period.  It  is  estimated  that  90  per  cent, 
of  cases  of  locomotor  ataxia,  a large  but  indeterminate 
proportion  of  the  paralyses  and  general  paresis  are  caused 
by  syphilis.  Kecent  investigations  in  the  French  insane 
hospitals  show  that  25  to  39  per  cent,  of  deaths  in  those 
institutions  may  be  traced  to  s\'philis.” 

Dr.  Wm.  L.  Holt  says: — “A  special  committee  ap- 
pointed to  study  the  social  evil  and  its  results  in  New  York 
in  1903  estimated  that  there  were  probably  as  many  as  200,- 
000  syphilitics  in  that  city. 

‘ ‘ The  fact  that  venereal  diseases  find  many  more  victims 
in  America  than  does  tuberculosis  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
records  of  the  outpatient  department  of  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital.  During  the  year  1904  nearly  a thousand 
(983)  patients  were  treated  for  venereal  diseases,  while 
only  430  were  treated  for  all  forms  of  tuberculosis.” 

Elsewhere  Dr.  iNIorrow  says : “It  should  be  known  that 


The  Venereal  Peril 


165 


the  spread  of  tuberculosis  is  not  simply  a question  of  seed 
and  environment,  but  chiefly  one  of  soil  suitable  for  the 
development  of  the  tubercle  bacilli.  It  is  a fact  well  rec- 
ognized by  the  medical  profession  that  syphilis,  by  lower- 
ing the  vitality  and  weakening  resistance,  produces  a con- 
dition favorable  to  the  development  of  tuberculosis.  Until 
the  spread  of  syphilis  is  effectively  checked  the  fight 
against  tuberculosis  will  be  but  partially  successful. 

Children  Slain  by  Venebealism  : — The  murderous  ef- 
fects of  these  diseases  upon  children  is  stated  by  the  Chi- 
cago Vice  Commission  thus:  “One  of  the  saddest  aspects 
of  the  whole  problem  of  the  social  evil  is  the  fact  that 
hundreds  of  innocent  children  have  become  infected  by 
venereal  diseases. 

“During  a period  of  twenty-seven  months  600  children 
under  twelve  years  of  age  have  passed  through  the  venereal 
ward  of  the  Cook  County  Hospital.  Sixty  per  cent,  of 
the  children  had  been  innocently  infected,  twenty  per  cent, 
inherited  the  disease,  and  twenty-five  per  cent,  had  been 
assaulted  by  diseased  persons.  About  fifteen  per  cent,  had 
syphilis  and  eighty-five  per  cent,  had  gonorrhoea. 

“At  one  time  there  was  an  epidemic  of  gonorrhoea 
among  little  girls  in  the  contagious  ward  of  the  County 
Hospitals.  Eighty-six  eases  of  this  dreadful  disease  were 
brought  in  by  fifteen  children.  The  dreadful  results 
of  venereal  diseases  among  children  are  almost  beyond  be- 
lief.” Social  Evil  in  Chicago,  p.  241. 

In  confirmation  of  these  alarming  facts  of  disease  among 
children.  Dr.  Clara  P.  Seippel,  Interne  at  the  Cook  County 
Hospital  (1909)  says: 

“7  have  personally  gone  over  the  hooks  for  the  year  1910, 
and  find  that  in  those  twelve  months  three  hundred  and 


166 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


thirty  (330)  children  ivere  admitted  to  the  venereal  chil- 
dren’s ward  of  the  Cook  County  Hospital. 

“Compared  with  six  hundred  in  twenty-seven  months, 
two  years  ago,  this  shows  a decided  increase,  which  is 
further  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  two  of  the  homes  which 
were  formerly  heavy  contributors  to  this  ward,  now,  (and 
have  for  the  past  year  or  two),  took  care  of  their  own  in- 
fected cases,  instead  of  sending  them  to  the  county. 

‘ ‘ Of  these  330  eases  in  1910,  293  were  girls,  of  whom  252 
had  gonorrheal  vulvo-vaginitis ; 116  of  these  252  came  to 
the  hospital  with  the  diagnosis  made,  or  they  came  for  that 
reason  alone.  The  remainder  came  in  for  other  reasons, 
and  the  disease  was  discovered;  that  is  to  say,  a child 
with  a broken  arm,  or  typhoid  fever  is  brought  to  the 
hospital,  a smear  is  taken  of  every  little  girl,  and  if  gon- 
ococci are  discovered  she  is  sent  to  the  children’s  venereal 
ward.  At  least  90  per  cent,  came  from  their  homes  direct.” 

Dr.  Howard  Kelly  of  Baltimore  writes  thus : “In  Balti- 
more, in  my  own  clinic  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital 
alone,  we  have  had  over  189  cases  of  little  children,  some 
but  wee  babes  in  arms,  violated,  and  in  every  instance  in- 
fected with  the  most  disgusting  diseases  to  which  flesh  is 
heir,  gonorrhoea  or  syphilis,  and  in  a number  of  instances 
the  poor  little  innocent  sufferer  has  contracted  both  in  ad- 
dition to  her  defloration. 

“Dr.  Pollack,  who  conducts  this  clinic,  after  making  a 
searching  examination  of  our  own  and  other  local  records, 
has  estimated  conservatively  that  from  800  to  1,000  chil- 
dren between  the  age  of  one  and  fifteen  are  yearly  im- 
molated in  our  city  alone  on  the  altar  of  perverted  brutal 
male  lust,  made  to  suffer  the  physical  tortures,  defloration, 
and  often  infected  with  these  frightful  diseases  from  which 


The  Venereal  Peril 


167 


they  may  never  recover.  Let  me  emphasize  the  fact  that 
the  189  cases  coming  under  our  own  direct  personal  in- 
spection were  every  one  of  them  infected  with  gonorrhoea, 
and  six  were  infected  with  syphilis  as  well.  ’ ’ 

Locomotor  Ataxia: — Dr.  Kelly  states  that  “Most 
eases  of  locomotor-ataxia,  now  so  common,  are  traceable 
to  this  source.  Were  it  not  for  this  disease  and  alcoholism, 
with  their  immediate  or  remote  consequences,  our  Insane 
Asylums  would  in  large  measure  be  depopulated.  Almost 
all  the  paralyses  in  men  under  forty  come  from  this  affec- 
tion. The  Wasserman  reaction  shows  that  practically  all 
prostitutes  have  it.  New  York  is  estimated  to  have  200,- 
000  syphilitic  subjects  and  probably  four  times  as  many 
gonorrhoics.  Gihon  estimated  that  there  are  two  million 
cases  in  the  United  States. 

The  same  authority  tells  us  that  these  diseases  are  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  tuberculosis,  as  far  as  their  effect  upon 
the  general  health  is  concerned : 

“It  must  he  known  and  recognized  that  these  venereal 
diseases  are  far  more  contagious  and  far  more  tvidespread 
and  far  more  important  economically  than  the  dreaded 
tuberculosis  which  we  are  beginning  to  treat  so  sensibly.” 

J.  Bayard  Clark,  M.  D.,  surgeon  to  Bellevue  Hospital, 
New  York,  in  an  address  before  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
county  of  Westchester,  at  Yonkers,  November  21,  1905, 
said: 

‘ ‘ It  was  not  many  years  ago  that  gonorrhea  was  looked 
upon  as  a local  inflammation  which  ran  in  a majority  of 
cases  a mild  course  ending  in  complete  cure.  Today  we 
recognize  in  gonorrhea  a formidable  infection,  which  has 
invaded  every  tissue  of  the  human  body  and  from  which 
no  class  of  society  is  immune.  Gonorrhea  is  said  to  be 


168 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  most  widespread  and  universal  disease  affecting  the 
adult  male  population.” 

Insanity: — Dr.  Wm.  IMahon,  Supt.  and  Medical  Direc- 
tor of  Manhattan  State  Hospital,  New  York,  says : 

“Among  the  patients  admitted  to  this  hospital  during 
the  year  ended  Sept.  30,  1910,  there  were  149  eases  of 
paresis  and  14  cases  of  cerebro-spinal  syphilis. 

“During  the  year  ended  Sept.  30,  1909,  the  hospitals  for 
the  insane  in  the  state  of  New  York  reported  the  following 
regarding  the  frequency  of  paresis:  731  patients  were 
admitted  suffering  from  this  disease ; 534  men,  equal  to 
15.5  per  cent,  of  the  male  admissions ; 197  women,  equal 
to  6 per  cent,  of  the  female  admissions.” 

Dr.  J.  P.  Percival,  General  Superintendent  of  Dunning 
Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Cook  County,  Illinois,  says : 

“During  the  year  1910  there  were  admitted  1,239  in- 
sane patients  at  Dunning  Institution — 60  per  cent,  male 
and  40  per  cent,  female.  Out  of  this  number  there  were 
194  paretics,  or  16  per  cent,  due  to  syphilis.  The  scientific 
world  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  90  per  cent,  of  paresis  is 
caused  by  syphilis.  Two-thirds  of  Chicago’s  insane  are 
received  at  Dunning,  the  remaining  one-third  are  sent  to 
the  State  institutions  of  Illinois.” 

In  the  same  state,  Illinois,  the  General  Assembly  of 
1911  appropriated  about  nine  million  dollars  for  the  care 
of  the  insane,  convicts,  feeble  minded  children,  blind,  etc., 
for  the  succeeding  two  years. 

Estimates  vary  as  to  the  proportion  of  the  male  popula- 
tion having  been  afflicted  with  these  diseases.  Dr.  Morrow 
places  the  proportion  of  men  who  are,  or  who  have  been, 
affected  by  gonorrhoea,  at  75  per  cent,  or  more;  and  he 
says  that,  “The  prevalence  of  sj'philis,  though  not  nearly 


The  Venereal  Peril 


169 


so  universal,  is  variously  estimated  at  from  5 to  8 per  cent. 
This  would  mean  that  in  a city  like  Chicago,  there  are 
at  least  120,000  persons  afflicted  with  syphilis,  and  through- 
out the  United  States  there  are  3,000,000  of  such  syphilitic 
sufferers,  while  three-fourths  of  all  men,  or — say  10,000,000 
of  the  men  of  the  United  States  are,  or  have  been  afflicted 
with  gonorrhoea.” 

Noeggerath  states  that  “of  every  thousand  men  mar- 
ried in  New  York  eight  hundred  have  or  have  had  gonor- 
rhoea, from  which  the  great  majority  of  the  wives  have  been 
affected.  Incredible  as  these  figures  appear,  they  are  of- 
fered and  accredited  by  most  careful,  and  conservative, 
scientific  men.  Who  shall  tell  to  what  extent  other 
diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis,  are  also  attributable  to  these 
diseases  ? ’ ’ 

These  statistics,  however,  are  not  here  offered  as  final 
or  authoritative.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  they  can  only 
be  based  upon  the  experience  and  observation  of  the  medical 
profession. 

We  incline  to  the  opinion  that  some  of  the  estimates  are 
excessive — not  taking  into  account  the  large  proportion  of 
men  who  rarely  or  never  consult  physicians,  and  who  are 
probably  the  most  free  from  any  form  of  venereal  taint. 

The  truth  is  that  apart  from  the  records  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  there  are  no  accurate  or  scientific  data  on  which 
to  base  such  statistics,  because  venereal  diseases  are  not 
included  in  the  list  of  those  which  are  compulsorily  re- 
ported. Yet,  when  all  this  is  taken  into  account  the  ratio 
of  men  who  are,  or  have  been,  affected  by  this  revolting 
and  race-destroying  disease  is  appalling  and  would  certainly 
justify  the  most  urgent  attention — not  only  of  all  educa- 
tors, but  also  of  the  governing  bodies  of  states  and  nation. 


170 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


No  legal  action  looking  to  the  suppression  of  the  chief 
cause  of  it ; — which  is  admittedly  the  hrothel — could  he  too 
drastic,  and  no  vote  of  money  should  be  deemed  excessive 
which  could  be  wisely  spent  in  promoting  a new  standard 
of  thought  in  relation  to  social  evil  and  a better  knowledge 
of  the  evils  attending  it,  and  of  the  causes  leading  to  it. 

THE  SOURCE  OP  VENEREAL  DISEASE. 

It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  work  to  discuss 
at  length  the  prophylaxis  of  sexual  hygiene.  On  that  sub- 
ject the  medical  profession  is  the  proper  authority;  and  it 
is  gratifying  to  observe  that  physicians  are  awakening  to  a 
sense  of  their  obligations  in  the  matter. 

But  we  may  raise  a question.  The  generally  accepted 
idea  of  social  diseases  is  that  they  are  communicable  only 
through  persons  already  infected.  In  other  words,  if 
neither  of  two  persons  are  infected,  there  will  he  no  ven- 
ereal disease  attending  their  sexual  union. 

It  is  not  made  clear  and  we  do  not  know  that  it  has 
ever  been  definitely  stated,  with  the  weight  of  any  author- 
ity, that  these  disorders  originate  only  with  sexual  excess 
and  uncleanness. 

Fournier,  the  great  French  authority  on  Venerealism, 
assumes  that  the  contagion  is  wide-spread  and  inevitable 
through  contact  with  persons  already  affected,  but  we  have 
not  seen  that  he  traces  the  germs  of  the  disease  to  an  origin- 
al source. 

Dr.  Acton  treats  the  subject  in  the  same  manner,  dis- 
missing the  question  of  its  source  by  this  simple  statement ; 
“Venereal  diseases  are  affections  more  or  less  directly  the 
consequence  of  sexual  intercourse.”^ 


‘“Prostitution,”  Wm.  Acton,  M.  R.  C.  S.  1857.  England. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


171 


Dr.  Prince  Morrow  throws  a little  light  upon  the  subject 
in  the  preface  of  his  book  on  “Social  Diseases  and  Mar- 
riage.” “Venereal  diseases,  in  their  mode  of  origins  and 
pathological  effects,  strike  at  the  very  root  of  nature’s 
process  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race.  Prom  the  many 
points  at  which  they  touch  the  relation  between  the  sexes, 
social  morality,  and  the  welfare  of  society,  they  are  pre- 
eminently social  diseases.  ’ ’ 

Dr.  Morrow  offered  some  further  light  in  a contribution 
to  the  “American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1907.”  In 
the  ordinary  conception,  the  prostitute  with  her  cortege 
of  infections  is  the  exclusive  cause  of  their  propagation; 
but  while  the  prostitute  is  the  chief  source,  she  is  by  no 
means  the  exclusive  agency  in  its  spread;  she  is  but  the 
purveyor  of  the  infection — she  returns  to  one  or  several 
consumers  the  infection  she  has  received  from  another  con- 
sumer. It  is  not  the  prostitute  but  her  partner  who  carries 
the  poison  home  and  distributes  it  to  his  family. 

The  question  is  important.  There  will  be  an  added 
weight  to  the  warnings  against  all  irregular  and  immoral 
sexual  union  if  it  is  shown  that  the  primary  origin  of 
venereal  diseases  is  only  to  be  found  in  excess  and  un- 
cleanness,  and  that  there  would  he  no  contagion  to  afiSict 
innocent  women  or  children  if  there  were  no  sexual  vice. 

If  venereal  diseases  strike  at  the  root  of  Nature’s 
process  of  race  perpetuation  it  is  not  because  the  seeds  of 
these  fearful  maladies  are  sown  by  Nature,  but  that  they 
are  direct  results  of  her  broken  laws. 

To  read  in  the  various  Vice  Commission  reports  that 
women  in  the  so-called  red-light  districts,  frequently  receive 
as  many  as  twenty,  and  sometimes  as  many  as  thirty,  or 
more,  men  in  a single  night,  is  a terrible  announcement 


172 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


which  implies  to  our  minds,  the  inevitableness  of  disease, 
even  if  it  had  not  previously  existed  in  any  one  of  the 
numerous  agents  thus  associated. 

The  absolute  suppression  of  a business  which  depends 
for  its  very  existence  upon  such  barbarous  outrages  upon 
nature,  resulting  inevitably  in  the  spread  of  diseases, 
which  decimate  the  population  of  civilized  countries  more 
than  war,  pestilence,  and  earthquakes  combined,  ought  not 
to  need  any  urging  upon  the  governing  forces  of  our  coun- 
try. 


“In  Germany  there  are  30,000  blind  due  to  gonorrhoea, 
and  with  all  the  skill  that  the  thorough-going  Germans  can 
bring  to  bear  upon  the  treatment  of  the  infection,  recog- 
nized at  its  very  outset  in  the  eyes  of  the  babe,  nay,  even 
anticipated,  there  yet  remains  an  annual  crop  of  600  cases 
of  this  perfectly  preventable  form  of  blindness  due  to 
voluntary  causes. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


173 


II 

IN  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY  AND  NAVY. 

“The  venereal  peril  has  come  to  outweigh  in  im- 
portance any  other  sanitary  question  which  now  con- 
fronts the  Army  and  neither  our  National  optimism  nor 
the  Anglo-Saxon  disposition  to  ignore  a subject  which 
is  offensive  to  public  prudery  can  longer  excuse  a frank 
and  honest  confrontation  of  the  problem.” — War  Report. 

The  natural  tendency  of  militarism  is  to  attach  supreme 
importance  to  the  physical  conditions  of  the  men  of  Armies 
and  Navies.  Physique  and  health  are  regarded  as  the  first 
essentials  of  their  effectiveness  and  value.  Fitness  for  a 
soldier,  or  a sailor,  is  gauged  by  a physical  standard,  with 
little  or  no  reference  to  mental  or  moral  ideals. 

If,  therefore,  it  could  be  shown  that  vice  contributed  to 
the  general  health  and  strength  of  the  men,  every  argu- 
ment against  prostitution  would  be  swept  aside  as  irrele- 
vant to  militarism. 

But  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  amazing  fact  that  the 

HEALTH  AND  EFFECTIVENESS  FOR  SERVICE,  OF  THE  ArMY  AND 

Navy  of  the  United  States,  are  destroyed  more  by 

VENEREAL  DISEASES  THAN  BY  ALL  OTHER  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES 
COMBINED. 

This  statement — extraordinary  and  sensational  as  it 
may  seem — is  made  on  the  authority  of  the  reports  of  the 
ablest  and  most  conservative  of  the  Military  and  Naval 
Department  of  our  American  Government. 

Here  are  statements  taken  from  “Reports  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  War”  during  a period  of  years: 

1905:  “By  far  the  most  important  diseases  affecting 
the  efficiency  of  the  Army  during  the  year,  have  been  the 
venereal,  which  caused  16  per  cent,  of  all  admissions,  28 


174 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


per  cent,  of  all  noneffectiveness,  and  18  per  cent,  of  all 
discharges  for  disease.”  p.  8. 

1906:  “Venereal  diseases  were  again  by  far  the  most 
important  affecting  the  efficiency  of  the  Army  during  the 
year,  . . causing  19  per  cent,  of  all  admissions,  15 

per  cent,  of  all  discharges,  and  30  per  cent,  of  all  non- 
effectiveness from  diseases.  There  were  constantly  on  sick 
report  for  this  class  of  diseases  710  men,  equal  to  the  loss 
for  the  entire  year  of  the  service  of  about  eleven  companies 
of  infantry.  The  increase  noted  in  all  the  rates,  except 
that  for  discharge,  for  venereal  diseases  indicates  a most 
unsatisfactory  condition.”  p.  30. 

1907 : “Venereal  diseases  were  again  by  far  the  most 
important  diseases  affecting  the  efficiency  of  the  army  dur- 
ing the  year.  There  were  constantly  on  sick  report  for  this 
class  of  affections  739  men.”  p.  17. 

1908:  “Venereal  diseases  were  again  by  far  the  most 
important  item  affecting  the  efficiency  of  the  army.”  p.  21. 

1909 : “Venereal  diseases  cause  a greater  sick  rate  than 
all  of  the  others  added  together.  The  total  noneffective  rate 
for  the  venereal  group  is  11.64,  while  that  of  the  other  nine 
diseases  in  8.88  per  1,000.  p.  17. 

1910:  “While  the  infectious  diseases  generally  showed 
a diminishing  prevalence,  there  is,  unfortunately,  no  im- 
provement in  the  sick  rate  for  venereal  diseases,  which 
caused  during  the  year  more  sickness  and  non-efficiency 
than  all  other  diseases  named — (tuberculosis,  articular 
rheumatism,  malarial  fevers,  dysentery,  acute  bronchitis, 
typhoid  fever,  diarrhoea  and  enteritis,  and  measles),  p.  15. 

1911:  “The  excellent  sanitary  record  of  the  army  has 
been  marred  and  its  efficiency  impaired  by  the  high  per- 
centage of  venereal  diseases  which  causes  more  disability 
than  all  other  contagious  diseases  combined.”  p.  7. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


175 


1912 : Venereal  diseases  still  hold  first  place  for  both 
admi^ions  and  non-effective  rate.  Nearly  one-third  of  the 
total  number  of  admissions  for  disease  were  due  to  venereal 
diseases,  p.  715. 

Surgeon-General  George  H.  Torney,  in  his  exhaustive 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  for  1910,  furnishes  a table 
showing  the  relative  admissions  to  hospital  for  the  five  dis- 
eases causing  the  highest  rates  per  1,000  men  from  which 
the  following  are  taken : 


Rates  of  admission  per  1,000  men : 


Venereal  Diseases 

177,46 

Tonsillitis 

64.61 

Bronchitis 

36,65 

Influenza 

' 

34.87 

Diarrhoea 

— 

38.08 

The  report  for  1912  shows  a small  decrease  in  all  these 
ratios. 

The  same  chart  also  shows  the  “non-effective  ratios  per 
1,000  of  mean  strength  for  the  five  diseases  causing  the 
highest  rates  in  the  United  States  proper:” 


11.44 

3.33 

Tonsillitis  ■— 

1.03 

Rheumatism  — 

1.02 

Bronchitis  •» 

.70 

6.08 

The  reader  will  see  that  the  combined  ratios  of  admis- 
sions to  hospital  for  the  four  serious  diseases  named  is 
163.99 ; the  ratio  of  the  single  class  of  venereal  diseases  is 
176.46. 

And,  further,  that  the  ratios  per  1,000  men,  in  the 


176 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


United  States  army,  who  are  rendered  non-efficient  by  four 
other  serious  diseases  combined,  including  the  dreaded  tu- 
berculosis, is  6.08,  while  the  ratio  for  venereal  diseases  alone 
is  11.44,  or  nearly  double  the  ratio  of  the  other  four  com- 
bined. 

ALCOHOLISM  AND  VENEREAL  DISEASES. 

It  is  generally  recognized  that  one  of  the  greatest  of 
scourges  that  afflict  soldiers  and  sailors,  as  well  as  civilians, 
is  intemperance.  Surgeon-General  Torney  has  furnished  a 
number  of  charts,  one  of  which  shows,  that  great  as  is  the 
evil  of  alcoholism,  it  does  not  compare,  as  a cause  of  non- 
efficiency of  the  army,  with  the  venereal  peril.  The  same 
chart  shows  that  there  has  been  a steadily  growing  increase 
in  these  diseases  reaching  the  highest  mark  in  the  last  year 
reported  (1909)  except  1905.  Beginning  with  the  year 
1898,  the  following  is  the  record. 

Table  showing  the  admission  rates  for  venereal  diseases 
and  alcoholism  in  U.  S.  Army. 


Black  rules  veneral.  Faint  rules  alcoholism. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


177 


Of  conditions  in  the  Philippines,  Surgeon-General  Tor- 
ney  says : ‘ ‘ The  first  place  among  causes  for  admissions  is 
still  occupied  by  venereal  diseases.  Nearly  94  per  cent  of 
the  admissions  for  this  cause  for  all  troops  were  from 
American  troops.  Among  the  Filipino  troops  it  occupied 
the  sixth  place  only,  this  marked  difference  doubtless  be- 
ing a result  of  the  fact  that  a majority  of  the  natives  are 
married.  Over  one-third  of  the  total  number  of  days  lost, 
were  incurred,  not  in  line  of  duty;  due  almost  entirely  to 
venereal  diseases.” 


ROOSEVELT’S  VETO  OF  CERTIFIED  PROSTITUTION  IN 
THE  PHILIPPINES. 

“Before  the  American  occupation  of  the  Phiiippines  Manila 
had  not  more  than  a score  of  prostitutes,  and  was  remarkable 
among  the  cities  of  the  world  for  its  freedom  from  this  com- 
mercialized vice,  but  with  American  occupation  lewd  women 
came  in  by  the  boat  load  and  ere  long  military  authorities  in 
the  Islands  without  any  authorization  from  the  administration 
adopted  a system  of  regulation  and  certification  of  prostitution. 

The  photograph  of  a Philippino  girl  would  be  taken  and 
reproduced  by  photo  engraving  and  printed  on  a card  with  the 
opposite  page  containing  the  statement  that  the  girl,  whose  pic- 
ture was  presented  herewith,  had  been  examined  by  military 
surgeons  whose  name  was  signed  below,  and  of  course  the  im- 
pression was  given  by  this  certificate  that  escape  from  God’s 
retribution  for  sin  is  guaranteed.  One  of  these  cards  was  sent 
to  Mrs.  M.  D.  Ellis,  Legislative  Agent  of  the  National  W.  C. 
T.  U.  at  Washington,  who  had  it  reproduced  entire  and  sent  to 
Senators,  Congressmen,  Cabinet  Officers  and  their  wives,  as 
proof,  that  for  the  first  time  under  the  American  fiag,  this  vice 
had  been  licensed,  for  in  each  case  the  girl  concerned  had  paid 
a fee  for  this  certificate. 

Many  protests  were  sent  to  President  Roosevelt  asking  him 
to  take  action,  as  having  full  power  for  suppression  of  this  dis- 
grace, and  accordingly  a cablegram  was  sent  to  the  Philippines, 
“by  order  of  the  President,”  over-ruling  this  certification  and  in- 
cluding the  words,  worthy  to  be  rung  out  through  all  the  land, 
and  in  all  the  world,  as  having  the  weight  of  the  Ex-Police  Com- 
missioner of  New  York  City,  as  well  as  the  President,”  “THE 
ONLY  WAY  TO  DIMINISH  THE  CONSEQUENCES  OP  VICE 
IS  TO  DIMINISH  THE  VICE.”— Wilbur  P Crafts,  Baltimore. 


178 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


The  report  includes  a chart  which  gives  the  rate  of  ad- 
missions per  1,000  of  the  army  in  the  Philippines,  from 
which  we  take  the  following:  (page  92) 


For  Venereal  Diseases  301.85 

Dengue  130.18 

Malarial  Fevers  112.35 

Furincle  & Phlegmon  64.08 

Diarrhea  59.79 


The  same  chart  gives  the  rate  for  non-effectiveness  of 
soldiers  in  the  U.  S.  army  as  follows : 


Venereal  Diseases  21.15 

Dysentery  2.99 

Malarial  Fevers  2.42 

Dengue  2.30 

Diarrhea  1.17 


Senate  Document  No.  419  says: 

‘ ‘ Among  the  troops  stationed  in  the  Philippines,  the  ven- 
ereal morbidity  during  the  year  1904  was  297  per  1,000, 
largely  exceeding  the  morbidity  from  malarial  fevers  and 
diarrhea ; 22  out  of  every  1,000  soldiers  were  constantly  in- 
effective from  venereal  diseases,  four  times  as  many  as  from 
any  other  disease.” 

COMPARISON  WITH  OTHER  ARMIES. 

Surgeon-General  Torney  makes  the  following  statement : 
(1910  Report — page  60) 

“Reports  since  the  Spanish- American  War  show  a 
steady  and  progressive  increase  in  this  class  of  diseases,  so 
that  the  admission  rate  which  was  84.59  per  1,000  in  1897 
has  now  reached  the  enormous  figure  of  196.99  per  1,000. 
These  figures  are  greatly  in  excess  of  those  which  obtain  in 


The  Venereal  Peril  179 

European  armies,  the  rates  for  the  latter  being,  according 
to  the  latest  obtainable  information”: 

British  (at  home  68.4) 75.8 

Austro-Hungarian  54.2 

French  (at  home  27.8) 38.8 

Prussian  18.7 

Bavarian  15.2 


Compare  these  with  the  United  States,  which  in  1897 
was  196.99. 

THE  NAVY. 

The  Army  Surgeon  General ’s  Report  says : ‘ ‘ The  United 
States  Navy  has  suffered  to  a like  degree  in  its  efficiency 
from  venereal  diseases.” 

The  report  of  the  Surgeon  General  of  the  Navy  for  1910 
contains  this  ominous  statement  of  conditions : 

“Venereal  disease  has  resulted  in  a truly  serious  situ- 
ation, there  being  over  100  primary  admissions  for  this  class 
of  affections  during  the  first  quarter  of  1910,  with  an  aver- 
age complement  of  1,881  (a  yearly  admission  rate  of  217 
per  thousand,  among  young  men  who  have  but  recently  en- 
tered the  service,  from  such  disease) — page  28.” 

That  is  to  say:  Of  young  men  who  are  free  from  ve- 
nereal taint  on  entering  the  navy,  217  per  1,000  (more  than 
21  per  cent)  quickly  become  infected,  so  seriously,  that  they 
are  admitted  to  hospital  for  treatment. 

The  same  report  remarks  of  the  U.  S.  Navy  Ship  ‘ ‘ Con- 
necticut ” : “ The  health  of  the  ship ’s  company  may  be 

considered  as  having  been  good  during  the  years  if  we 
except  the  venereal  diseases.”  (Page  107.) 

The  report  of  the  Navy  Surgeon  General  for  1913  shows 
a slight  improvement  in  the  last  two  years,  viz. : 


180 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Admission  Rate 
to  Hospital,  per  1,000. 


1911  9,252  150.68 

1912  8,996  145.33 


An  important  discussion  of  “The  Venereal  Problem  in 
the  Army  and  Navy,”  by  Lieut. -Col.  J.  R.  Kean,  of  the 
U.  S.  Army  Medical  Corps,  reprinted  from  “The  Military 
Surgeon,”  contains  some  valuable  statistics  on  this  sub- 
ject. He  publishes  a table  showing  the  movement  of  ve- 
nereal diseases  in  the  U.  S.  Navy  for  a number  of  years, 
from  which  the  following  table  is  made ; 


Strength 

Aggregate 

Admission 

of  Navy 

primary 

rate  per  1,000 

Infection; 

for  Venereal: 

1900 

22,977 

1204 

52.40 

1901 

26,101 

1380 

52.87 

1902 

30,249 

1661 

54.91 

1903 

36,536 

2244 

61.42 

1904 

39,450 

2934 

74.04 

1905 

39,620 

3604 

91.38 

1906 

41,690 

4520 

108.42 

1907 

44,083 

3709 

84.14 

1908 

50,984 

4681 

91.81 

1909 

55,550 

8910 

160.49 

Lieut. -Col.  Kean  makes  comments  explanatory  of  the 
figures  for  1908  which,  if  corrected,  presumably  would  have 
increased  the  ratio  for  that  year.  With  that  proviso  he 
gives  the  above  as  showing  the  increase  of  venereal  diseases 
in  the  navy,  reaching  to  the  enormous  ratio  in  1909,  of 
160.49  per  1,000  men. 

As  in  the  Army,  so  also  in  the  Navy,  the  ratio  of  these 
diseases  is  relatively  greater  in  the  United  States  than  in 
other  countries.  Of  six  (6)  great  navies,  the  American  holds 


The  Venereal  Peril 


181 


the  unenviable  distinction  of  being  the  worst  in  this  re- 
spect, except  Japan.  Col.  Kean  gives  the  following  table: 

German,  1908,  mean  strength  49,955;  rate  per  1,000  66 

French  1905,  mean  strength  49,935;  rate  per  1,000  75 

Italian  1906,  mean  strength  27,338;  rate  per  1,000  83 

British  1909,  mean  strength  112,700;  rate  per  1,000  120 

American  1909,  mean  strength  57,172;  rate  per  1,000  160 

Japanese  1908,  mean  strength  43,857;  rate  per  1,000  167 

“The  Venereal  Problem  in  the  Army  & Navy,  1912,”  page  11. 

Senate  Document  No.  419,  presented  by  Senator  Owen, 
says : 

“The  statistics  of  the  Navy  Department  show  during 
the  same  year  (1904)  that  venereal  disease  was  chargeable 
with  a percentage  of  25.2  of  the  total  number  of  sick  days 
in  the  hospital  from  all  causes  combined.  In  four  years 
949  men  were  discharged  from  the  navy  for  disability 
from  venereal  diseases.” 

Col.  Kean  quotes  Fiske  as  an  authority  that  “one  man 
out  of  every  seven  in  the  navy  develops  a venereal  infec- 
tion each  year ; assuming  an  average  of  four  years  ’ service 
to  each  individual,  we  judge  that  over  50  per  cent  of  the 
personnel  have  a venereal  disease  during  this  relatively 
brief  period  of  their  lives.” 

Col.  Kean  also  quotes  Surgeon  General  Kixey  as  stat- 
ing, in  his  annual  report  of  1909,  that  during  the  year 
1907,  if  applied  solely  to  the  force  afloat,  this  class  of  dis- 
ease “would  have  operated  to  render  entirely  inactive  for 
over  a month  three  battleships  with  a complement  of  1,000 
officers  and  men  each.” 

We  have  here  the  testimony  of  the  ablest  experts  of 
the  age.  We  have  the  experienced  and  equipped  of  army, 
navy  and  medical  authorities;  of  men  whose  official  pride 


•The  Venereal  Problem  In  the  Army  and  Navy,  p.  10. 


182 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


would  be  gratified  if  they  could  tell  of  efficiency  and  high 
standards  in  the  forces  which  they  command,  but  who 
are  humiliated,  as  duty  demands  of  them  a story  of  facts 
so  deplorable. 

From  these  w'e  learn  that,  if  the  nation  needs  its  sol- 
diers and  sailors  for  defense  and  security,  their  efficiency 
for  such  defense  is  depreciated  and  weakened  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  by  diseases  which  are  the  direct  consequence 
of  the  practices  of  the  men,  and  which  are  every  year  be- 
coming worse  and  worse. 

A summary  of  the  facts  recorded  would  startle  the 
nation  if  generally  known. 

Take  the  reports  of  these  years  of  experience  from 
1905  to  1912  which  we  have  quoted  from  the  army  reports. 
Note  the  fact  that  in  1908  there  were  6,514  admissions 
to  hospital  for  venereal  infections,  of  which  4,681  repre- 
sented original  inf ectio'tis ; these  cases  furnished  106,526 
sick  days,  which  represented  a loss  of  service  and  treat- 
ment expense  to  the  Government  of  $200,000.  ^ 

Let  the  reader  turn  back  to  the  table  on  “Alcoholism 
and  Venerealism”  and  observe  the  appalling  paralysis  of 
army  forces.  The  admissions  for  medical  treatment  for 
venereal  diseases  in  1909  represent  nearly  20  per  cent  of 
the  entire  army  (196.99  per  1,000)  ; 14,640  admissions  oc- 
curred during  the  j^ear  1908  representing  12,605  separate 
cases.  To  state  it  in  other  words,  this  means  that  about 
one-fifth  of  the  army  was  laid  aside  from  service,  and  was 
on  the  sick  list,  through  venereal  disease,  some  time  during 
the  year.  The  loss  sustained  in  the  army,  in  one  year, 
is  thus  equal  to  about  800  men  for  the  entire  year,  or  more 
than  the  equivalent  of  11  companies  of  infantry. 


'The  Venereal  Problem — Lieut.  Col.  Kean,  page  10. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


183 


And  these  losses  continue,  without  cessation,  increas- 
ing with  the  years.  At  the  present  rate  the  American 
navy  is  losing  the  service  of  an  equivalent  of  8,000  men 
in  ten  years,  and  if  it  continues  to  increase  at  the  rate 
it  has  increased  during  the  past  ten  years  the  next  decade 
will  show  an  awful  loss  of  about  20,000  men. 

How  many  more  are  partially  incapacitated  is  not  told 
— and  cannot  be  told.  It  is  probable  that,  if  all  the  facts 
were  available,  we  should  learn  that  the  forces  for  which 
the  nation  pays  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  million  dol- 
lars per  year  are  depreciated  in  value  for  service,  in  a 
greater  measure  through  these  diseases,  than  by  all  other 
causes  combined,  not  excepting  war. 

As  to  the  navy,  we  have  seen  that  50  per  cent  of  the 
young  men  of  the  navy  “have  a venereal  disease”  at  some 
time  during  their  four  years  of  service,  and  that  according 
to  Surgeon  General  Rixey  the  loss  of  service  in  1907  was 
equal  to  the  loss  of  active  service  for  a full  month  of  “three 
battleships  with  a complement  of  1,000  officers  and  men 
for  each  battleship.” 

Nor  can  we  measure  the  far-reaching  effect  of  this  im- 
pairment of  human  forces,  drawn  from  the  best  physical 
blood  of  the  nation,  for  purposes  supposed  to  be  necessary 
for  national  safety  and  security. 

We  cannot  trace  the  flow  of  poisoned  blood  as  it  is 
turned,  in  after  years,  into  the  life  stream  of  human  gen- 
eration. 

If  “war  is  hell”  what  may  be  said  of  this  great 
scourge.  Verily,  the  venereal  perils  are  more  to  be  feared 
than  war. 


184  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

III 

Can  the  Plague  Be  Stayed? — Remedies  Proposed. 

Turning  from  these  appalling  facts  the  question  arises : 
What  can  be  done  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  diseases 
which  are  so  rapidly  destroying  the  effective  value  of  the 
army  and  navy,  as  well  as  a large  portion  of  the  general 
population?  After  remarking  in  his  report  for  1910  that 
“The  venereal  peril  has  come  to  outweigh  in  importance 
any  other  sanitary  question  wdiich  now  confronts  the  army 
and  neither  our  national  optimism  nor  the  Anglo-Saxon 
disposition  to  ignore  a subject  which  is  offensive  to  public 
prudery  can  longer  excuse  a frank  and  honest  confronta- 
tion of  the  problem.”  Surgeon  General  Torney  strikes 
an  optimistic  note  as  follows: 

“There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  these  diseases  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  preventive  medicine,  any  more  than 
other  contagious  diseases,  and  their  immunity  from  re- 
striction must  be  attributed  to  the  public  disinclination 
to  discuss  them  and  legislate  concerning  them.  It  is  now 
believed  by  most  sociologists,  as  well  as  sanitarians,  that 
the  evil  being  primarily  a social  one  can  only  be  reached 
by  a propaganda  of  public  discussion  and  education,  and 
that  education  in  sexual  matters,  and  in  the  danger  of 
venereal  diseases,  should  begin  with  the  young  and  be  car- 
ried on  by  means  of  all  the  agencies  to  popular  enlight- 
enment. A number  of  state  and  municipal  health  authori- 
ties, as  well  as  private  associations,  are  now  publishing 
and  distributing  literature  on  this  subject.  It  is  believed 
that  the  War  Department  cannot  do  better  than  adopt  this 
general  attitude  and  many  of  these  methods,  including  a 
philosophical  indifference  to  criticism  on  the  part  of  self- 
constituted  censors  of  the  public  morals  whose  suscepti- 


The  Venereal  Peril 


185 


bilities  are  offended  by  a public  discussion  of  these  ques- 
tions. ’ ’ 

This  is  followed  up  with  a program  of  supervision, 
education  and  restraint,  which,  if  carried  out  with  dili- 
gence, could  not  fail  of  some  good  results.  The  same  report, 
however,  contains  the  statement  that : 

“The  slight  diminution  in  the  occurrence  of  venereal 
diseases  last  year  gave  hope  that  the  campaign  of  edu- 
cation on  this  subject  which  has  been  begun  through  the 
medical  officers  was  beginning  to  bear  fruit,  but  1909  un- 
fortunately shows  an  increase  not  only  over  the  preceding 
year,  but  over  any  other  year  of  which  there  is  record, 
except  1905.” 

Some  strong  measures  have  already  been  taken  which, 
it  is  hoped,  will  accomplish  much  good.  Among  these 
measures  are  the  following: 

Wearing  Uniform  in  Grogshops: — “The  wearing  of 
the  uniform  of  the  army  in  places  of  ill-repute  and  in  the 
company  of  disreputable  companions  discredited  the  uni- 
form and  military  profession,  and  called  attention  to  the 
evil  conduct  of  the  wearer  and  would  be  considered  a 
military  offense  and  punished  accordingly.” 

Stoppage  op  Payment  : — The  following  regulation  was 
passed  by  both  Houses  of  Congress : 

“Any  officer  or  enlisted  man  in  active  service  who 
shall  be  absent  from  duty  on  account  of  disease,  resulting 
from  his  own  intemperate  use  of  drugs  or  alcoholic  liquors, 
or  other  misconduct,  shall  not  receive  pay  for  the  period 
of  such  absence.” 

The  Surgeon  General  says,  in  reference  to  this  order: 
“This  stoppage  of  pay  will,  it  is  believed,  do  as  much  or 


186 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


more  than  anything  else  that  can  he  done  to  lessen  the 
venereal  rate  in  the  army.  Until  the  enlisted  men  can 
be  made  to  realize  the  necessity  of  the  prevention  of  ve- 
nereal diseases  not  much  can  be  accomplished.” 

Instructions: — General  Orders,  No.  17,  says:  “It  is 
enjoined  upon  all  officers  serving  with  troops  to  do  their 
utmost  to  encourage  healthful  exercises  and  physical 
recreation,  and  to  supply  opportunities  for  cleanly  social 
and  interesting  mental  occupations  for  the  men  under  their 
command;  to  take  advantage  of  favorable  opportunities 
to  point  out,  particularly  to  the  younger  men,  the  inevi- 
table misery  and  disaster  which  follow  upon  intemperance 
and  moral  uncleanliness,  and  that  venereal  disease,  which 
is  almost  sure  to  follow  licentious  living,  is  never  a trivial 
affair.  Although  the  chief  obligation  and  responsibility 
for  the  instruction  of  soldiers  in  these  matters  rests  upon 
company  officers  should  cooperate  by  occasional  lectures 
or  other  instruction  upon  the  subject  of  sexual  psysiology 
and  hygiene  and  the  dangers  of  venereal  infection.” 

Must  Report  : — ‘ ‘ Commanding  officers  will  require 
that  men  who  expose  themselves  to  danger  of  contracting 
venereal  diseases  shall  at  once,  upon  their  return  to  camp 
or  garrison,  report  to  the  hospital  or  dispensary  for  the 
application  of  such  cleaning  and  prophylaxis  as  may  be 
prescribed  by  the  Surgeon  General.  Any  soldier  who 
fails  to  comply  with  these  instructions,  if  found  to  be  suf- 
fering from  a venereal  affection,  shall  be  brought  to  trial 
by  court  martial  for  neglect  of  duty.” 

Chastity  Recommended: — The  “necessity”  doctrine 
receives  a striking  blow  in  the  followng  note  from  the 
Surgeon  General ’s  report : “It  may  well  be  said  that  every 


The  Venereal  Peril 


187 


enlisted  man  in  the  army  has  received  instruction  in  re- 
gard to  these  matters,  and  that  they  are  well  informed 
regarding  the  dangers  of  illicit  sexual  intercourse.  It  has 
been  made  clear  to  them  also  that  sexual  intercourse  is 
not  necessary  for  a healthy  bodily  condition,  and  that 
sexual  purity  is  a thing  that  is  much  to  be  desired.” 

But,  notwithstanding  all  these  restricted  and  remedial 
measures,  the  army  and  navy  authorities  are  facing  the 
serious  problem  of  an  increasing  rate  of  venereal  diseases. 

There  seems  to  be  as  yet  no  definite  recognition  of  the 
real  cause  of  this  awful  scourge.  Even  under  the  best 
conditions  it  could  hardly  be  hoped  that  any  group  of 
men,  in  the  years  of  their  virile  young  manhood,  with  all 
the  strong,  natural  impulses  of  physical  life,  and  deprived 
of  the  influences  of  domestic  circles,  will  be  likely  to  attain 
a degree  of  physical  and  moral  restraint  that  will  keep 
them  wholly  free  of  the  effects  of  intemperate  and  im- 
moral habits,  especially  when  grog  shops  still  abound  and 
brothels  are  permitted  and  practically  sanctioned  by  the 
inertness  and  connivance  of  police  authorities. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  of  1912  gives  the 
returns  for  1911,  and  remarks  as  follows:  “The  ques- 
tion of  prevention  of  venereal  diseases  has  during  the  past 
year  continued  to  claim  much  time  and  attention  on  the 
part  of  medical  officers  throughout  the  army  and  of  this 
office,  and  much  faithful  work  has  been  done  in  the  in- 
struction of  recruits  and  efforts  in  other  ways  to  prevent 
exposure  to  infection  and  to  prevent  infection  after  ex- 
posure. It  was  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  good  results  of 
this  work  might  be  shown  in  the  venereal  statistics.  This 
hope  has,  however,  been  disappointed  so  far  as  the  record 


188 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


for  syphilis  is  concerned,  and  owing  to  the  increased  num- 
ber of  cases  of  that  disease  the  figure  for  all  venereal  dis- 
eases has  increased,  as  shown  in  the  following  tabular 
statement.  ’ ’ 

The  rate  of  admissions  to  hospital  of  the  entire  army 
for  venereal  diseases  is  given  as  follows: 


In  1910 174.95  per  1,000  men 

In  1911 185.13  per  1,000  men 


In  the  study  of  “The  Venereal  Problem  of  the  Army 
and  Navy”  by  Lieut. -Col.  Kean,  he  remarks  that: 

“It  is  generally  recognized  by  all  who  have  studied  the  ques- 
tion that  the  prostitute  is  the  principal  purveyor  of  venereal 
diseases,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  the  spread  of  them  among 
the  young  unmarried  men  who  fill  the  ranks  of  armies.” 

In  its  generally  accepted  sense,  this  would  mean  that 
women,  who  reside  in  brothels,  carry  the  disease  from 
woman  to  man  and  then  back  from  man  to  women ; where- 
as, the  fact  is  that  men  who  voluntarily  visit  the  pest 
houses  become  infected  and  thus  become  the  “purveyors” 
of  disease  to  others.  As  Dr.  Prince  Morrow  says:  “In 
the  ultimate  analysis  it  wdll  be  found  that  the  male  factor 
is  the  chief  malefactor.” 

If  a man  knowingly  visited  a small-pox  pest  house  and 
became  infected,  no  one  would  blame  the  person  through 
whom  the  contagion  reached  him;  if,  further,  he  carried 
the  disease  to  others,  society  would  regard  him  as  the 
chief  “purveyor”  and  w'ould  hold  him  accountable. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  Lieut.-Col.  Kean  means  that 
the  brothel  is  the  principal  center  of  infection,  and  that 
from  it  diseases  are  carried  to  the  unsuspecting  public, 
then  the  attack  should  be  directed  against  the  brothel  until 


The  Venereal  Peril 


189 


it  is  annihilated.  Why  tolerate  and  permit  a house  of 
contagion  with  open  doors  and  allow  its  keepers  to  conduct 
a trade  in  vice  and  disease? 

“If  men  wish  to  avoid  venereal  disease  it  is  in  their  power 
to  so  so,  without  segregating  prostitutes  and  sending  the  health 
department  to  inspect  them.”  Minneapolis  Vice  Com.  Reports — 
page  56. 

Lieut.-Col.  Kean  quotes  Dr.  Prince  Morrow’s  remark 
that:  “The  health  officers  of  a port  might  as  well  at- 
tempt to  prevent  importation  from  a plague-infested 
vessel  by  quarantining  the  infected  women,  while  permit- 
ting the  infected  men  to  go  free,’’  and  the  Colonel  says 
that  this  statement  “lacks  the  sense  of  proportion.”  He 
adds  that  “the  aim  of  the  quarantine  officer  is  different. 
It  is  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  a single  ease  of  plague 
into  a community  which  is  free  of  it.” 

But,  is  not  this  a distinction  without  a difference? 
Would  any  quarantine  officer  relax  his  efforts  to 
keep  infected  passengers  from  going  free,  if  he  learned 
that  the  port  was  already  suffering  from  the  same 
malady?  And  could  he  accomplish  any  good  if  he  were 
to  free  all  infected  males  and  hold  the  females?  What 
would  be  thought  of  the  judgment  of  such  an  officer — to 
say  nothing  of  his  sense  of  equity  and  equality? 

The  real  trouble  is  that  the  military  and  civic  authori- 
ties both  persist  in  the  old  doctrine  that  trade  in  vice  is 
a necessity,  that  suppression  is  impossible  and  that,  there- 
fore, either  license,  or  free  trade  in  vice  with  police  regu- 
lations, maintained  by  graft,  is  the  only  possible  way  to 
deal  with  the  evil.  To  quote  Lieut.-Col.  Kean  on  this 
point : 

“It  is  an  old  saying  that  men  cannot  be  made  virtuous  by 
Act  of  Parliament.  It  has  been  the  universal  experience  of 


190 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


mankind  in  all  ages  and  among  all  nations  that  sexual  incon- 
tinence cannot  be  prevented  by  legislation,  and  it  can  by  no 
means  be  logically  considered  legalization  for  the  law  to  recog- 
nize and  attempt  to  diminish  the  evil  results  of  practices  which 
it  is  unable  to  repress.  To  ignore  them  is  to  imitate  the  tradi- 
tional habit  of  the  ostrich.” 

If  we  admit  that  “men  cannot  be  made  virtuous  by 
Act  of  Parliament”  or  Congress,  we  must  also  recognize 
that  the  business  of  government  is  “to  make  it  easy  to  do 
right  and  difficult  to  do  wrong.  If  sexual  incontinence, 
like  theft  or  any  other  sin,  cannot  he  wholly  prevented 
by  law,  must  we,  therefore,  provide  that  these  sins  and 
crimes  shall  be  recognized  as  trades,  to  be  permitted  and 
regulated  ? 

“The  traditional  habit  of  the.  ostrich”  is  a good  il- 
lustration of  the  long  prevailing  blindness  of  men  who 
close  their  eyes  to  the  relation  of  vice  and  disease  as 
cause  and  effect — that  a business  for  profit,  in  the  first, 
is  a prolific  promoter  of  the  second.  License  and  regula- 
tion have  been  tried  for  a hundred  years  or  more,  under 
every  conceivable  method  of  surveillance,  and  their  signal 
failure  was  the  key  note  of  the  Brussels  conferences  of 
1899  and  1905,  which  were  attended  by  representative 
medical  practitioners,  police  officials  and  legislators  from 
nearly  all  countries  including  the  United  States. 

Will  Lieut. -Col.  Kean  tell  us  when  and  where  any 
government  or  police  authorities  have  ever  tried  to  sup- 
press the  trade  in  prostitution  by  any  sustained  action 
of  law — and  failed? 


*W.  E.  Gladstone. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


191 


MARRIAGE  IN  THE  ARMY  AS  A REMEDY. 

Lieut.-Col.  Kean  calls  attention  to  a most  interesting 
suggestion  in  reference  to  the  conditions  in  the  army. 
He  quotes  army  statistics  which  show  that  the  ratio  of 
disease,  per  1,000,  among  the  white  soldiers  in  the  Philip- 
pines was  290  in  1909 ; of  colored  troops,  418 ; while  among 
the  native  Asiatic  soldiers  it  was  only  49,  and  he  re- 
marks : 

“The  explanation  of  this  surprising  difference  Is  that  the 
native  troops  are  mostly  married,  a reason  which  probably  ap- 
plies also  to  the  native  troops  of  other  nations.  As  these 
Asiatics  are  certainly  not  more  continent  and  have  not  higher 
moral  standards  than  the  white  American  soldiers  it  illustrates 
well  the  enormous  disadvantage  in  this  respect  of  the  enforced 
celibacy  of  the  American  soldier  and  to  what  a small  extent 
moral  and  prudential  considerations  can  make  headway  in  op- 
position to  a fundamental  natural  instinct.” 

This  is  a note  of  almost  supreme  importance.  The 
suggestion  that  marriage  is  the  explanation  of  the  differ- 
ence between  a ratio  of  49  per  thousand  among  native 
soldiers  and  290  among  white  soldiers  (while  with  the 
colored  troops  the  ratio  reaches  over  400)  ought  to  be 
accepted  as  a revelation,  and  should  receive  instant  at- 
tention— not  only  of  the  heads  of  the  military  departments, 
but  of  the  government  and  the  entire  nation. 

It  comes  with  all  the  force  of  a wonderful  discovery, 
amounting  almost  to  a solution  of  the  problem,  so  far  as 
the  army  is  concerned. 

The  suggestion  is  not  original  with  Col.  Kean,  but 
comes  direct  from  the  report  of  the  Surgeon  General.  In 
his  report  for  1910  he  says: 

“Among  the  Filipino  troops  it  (venereal  disease)  occupies 
the  sixth  place  only,  this  marked  difference  doubtless  being  a 


192 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


result  of  the  fact  that  a majority  of  the  native  soldiers  are 
married.”  (Page  97.) 

Again  on  page  114  of  the  same  report  (1912)  Surgeon 
General  Torney  alludes  to  it  in  these  terms: 

“The  lower  rate  for  venereal  cases  among  the  Filipino 
troops  is  believed  to  be  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  a large  per 
cent  of  them  are  married.” 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  concession  to  the  truth 
and  unity  of  the  moral  and  physical  law  that  we  ever 
remember  to  have  seen  in  a military  document. 

It  makes  one  think  of  a passage  in  the  Chicago  Vice 
Commission  Report,  which  attains  to  the  dignity  of  a ser- 
mon : 

“The  Commission  desires  to  say  one  more  word  to  those 
who  support  the  business  of  women’s  souls,  whether  as  bar- 
terers  of  the  body,  or  those  who  demand  the  service — the 
Man.  There  is  only  one  moral  law — it  is  alike  for  men  and 
women.  Again,  there  is  a contract  called  Matrimony  which 
is  a solemn  contract  made  between  those  who  love.  It  carries 
with  it  the  elements  of  vested  rights — even  a solemn  promise 
before  God.  A signature  represents  honor — it  is  there — like- 
wise a promise — it  is  there.  Has  this  contract  been  kept 
inviolate?  If  not,  why  not?” 

“War  is  hell!”  said  General  Sherman.  With  equal 
truth  it  may  be  said  that  armies  in  times  of  peace  are 
death — at  least  so  long  as  the  brothel  is  permitted  as  an 
institution  of  trade. 

The  plea  for  the  regulation  of  prostitution,  on  the  part 
of  governments,  rests  mainly  on  the  claim  for  health  and 
effectiveness  of  armies.  These  armies  are  selected,  re- 
cruited and  maintained  from  the  very  flower  of  physical 
young  manhood. 

From  fields  of  industry  and  productive  service  they  are 


The  Venereal  Peril 


193 


transferred  to  schools  of  physical  training,  with  much 
idle,  undirected  leisure;  from  responsible  citizenship  into 
a life  that  calls  for  no  sacrifice  in  times  of  peace,  and  in- 
volves no  citizen  obligations;  from  the  circle  of  domestic 
relations  to  associations  of  animal  impulse,  with  the  finer 
sentiments  and  pure  moral  atmosphere  absent. 

The  World’s  Peace  Federation  calls  for  the  suspension 
of  all  armed  forces.  If  this  could  be  attained,  an  im- 
measurable gain  would  be  added  to  purity  and  social  or- 
der. There  is  no  institution  which  contributes  so  largely, 
and  so  naturally,  to  social  vice  in  any  country  as  standing 
armies  of  unmarried  soldiers. 

But  while  we  maintain  an  army,  why  may  not  this 
suggestion  of  marriage  be  taken  as  the  bugle  cry  of  reform 
— a remedy  in  advance,  of  any  that  has  ever  been  seri- 
ously offered?  Surely  what  is  possible  to  Filipino  sol- 
diers is  possible  to  American  soldiers. 

It  would  be  objected,  of  course,  that  provision  for 
married  couples  in  military  stations  would  incur  an  ex- 
pense which  renders  a general  provision  for  marriage 
impossible. 

But,  it  would  be  an  exceedingly  interesting  study  to 
inquire  into  the  relative  cost  of  a married  army,  unth 
venereal  diseases  cut  down  to  a proportion  of  about  one 
case  where  there  are  now  seven,  to  say  nothing  of  the  in- 
creasing worth  of  the  men  to  the  nation. 

And  what  a change  might  come  over  the  conditions 
of  army  stations!  As  a general  thing  the  presence  of  one 
or  more  companies  of  men  stationed  at  a military  bar- 
racks is  a constant  source  of  fear  and  dread  to  the  sur- 
rounding neighborhoods.  It  is  no  slander  of  the  men 
to  say  that  the  very  presence  of  a company  of  soldiers  is 


194 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


usually  regarded  as  a source  of  danger  to  morals  and  the 
reputation  of  the  whole  town  suffers^  This  is  in  the 
order  of  a natural  consequence — not  because  soldiers,  or 
sailors,  are  a worse  set  of  men  than  others.  They  are 
sons  and  brothers  of  American  citizens,  and  are  themselves 
American  citizens,  or,  at  least,  have  naturalized  or  given 
notice  of  becoming  so.  When  they  enter  the  army  they 
would  pass  muster  in  a test  of  morals  with  the  average 
boys  of  the  country.  But  as  soldiers  they  are  under  con- 
ditions of  physical  training  with  no  obligations  except  to 
obey  orders.  Their  restraints  are  all  physical,  rather  than 


’A  military  man,  whose  personal  friendship  and  critical 
judgment  the  writer  esteems,  takes  exception  to  this  comment 
on  the  effects  of  the  presence  of  companies  of  soldiers  to  sur- 
rounding neighborhoods.  I wish  I could  conscientiously  state 
otherwise,  but  while  I know  that  there  are  in  companies  of  sol- 
diers, many  men  whom  we  delight  to  meet  and  to  honor,  I have 
not  yet  known  of  a military  station  which  was  unattended, 
more  or  less,  with  patronage  of  the  vicious  elements  in  the 
nearby  towns  and  a weakening  of  the  sense  of  moral  safety 
among  women,  and  I have  shown  why  this  may  be  expected, 
without,  in  any  way,  classing  soldiers  as  naturally  less  moral 
than  other  men. 

My  military  friend  also  thinks  that  the  plea  for  an  army 
of  married  men  is  “untenable.”  Perhaps  it  is.  But  the  sugges- 
tion, coming  so  significantly  in  army  reports,  as  a result  of 
experience  of  the  Filipino  soldiers,  is  so  noteworthy  that  I 
could  not  fail  to  call  attention  to  it.  Of  course  there  are 
difficulties.  But  new  conditions  call  for  new  provisions.  The 
statesmanship  of  the  future  may  see  that  an  army  such  as 
ours  need  not  be  so  frequently  moved  from  station  to  station, 
in  times  of  peace,  and  that  it  may  become  possible  for  soldiers 
to  remain  for  longer  periods  at  one  station,  subject  only  to  call 
for  special  duty.  We  have  an  army  of  commercial  travelers 
who  only  enjoy  their  homes  occasionally,  but  w'ho  find  to  have 
a center  point  towards  which  their  thoughts,  interests  and  af- 
fections may  turn,  is  mighty  as  a powerhouse  for  virtue  and 
character.  Might  not  such  motor  be  available  to  soldiers  and 
sailors,  a port  with  a home  towards  which  the  minds  of  men 
may  constantly  turn — if  only  once  in  a while  they  can  take 
refuge  there — a strong  leverage  for  economic  and  moral  order 
and  for  the  building  up  of  a nobler  physical  manhood. — Ed. 


The  Venereal  Peril 


195 


moral.  Their  acquaintances  are  men  only — men  like  them- 
selves who,  as  soldiers,  have  no  moral  purpose,  no  moral 
training,  and  no  obligation  outside  the  routine  of  exer- 
cise and  drill.  These  men  cannot  escape  the  conversation 
and  influence  of  the  worst  of  their  numbers — nor  can  they 
go  from  their  places  of  drill  and  duty,  as  business  and 
laboring  men  do,  into  an  atmosphere  of  home.  The  charm 
of  the  domestic  circle  and  the  refining  influence  of  chaste 
women  are  not  available  to  them. 

Secretary  of  War  Stimson,  reviewing  the  army  report 
of  1912  said : 

“I  believe  that  the  ultimate  causes  which  make  the  record 
of  our  army  in  this  respect  shameful  beyond  that  of  the  army 
of  any  other  civilized  nation  are  inherent  in  our  shortcomings 
as  a nation  in  dealing  with  this  matter.  So  long  as  in  our  civil 
community,  and  particularly  our  larger  cities,  we  continue  to 
close  our  eyes  to  the  magnitude  and  extent  of  the  evil  and  re- 
frain from  attacking  it  with  the  weapons  which  scientific  know- 
ledge places  in  our  hands,  it  cannot  but  be  expected  that  the 
younger  men  in  our  army,  leading  the  abnormal  life  of  the 
soldier,,  will  show  the  effect  of  the  evil  to  a marked  degree.”^ 

It  may  be  true  that  the  “shortcomings”  referred  to 
by  Secretary  Stimson  are  more  prevalent  in  this  country 
than  in  some  others.  But  would  it  not  be  well  to  look  into 
economic  conditions  for  some  measure  of  the  cause  of  the 
greater  ratio  of  immorality  and  attendant  diseases  in  our 
army  and  navy?  We  are  deploring  the  low  wages  paid 
to  girls  as  one  of  the  causes  of  their  downfall.  Perhaps 
the  reverse  is  true  of  men  who  have  no  other  use  for 
money  than  indulgence  in  certain  habits.  May  it  not  be 
that  the  pay  of  our  soldiers,  so  much  greater  than  that  of 
soldiers  in  other  countries,  enables  them  to  be  more  reck- 


^Current  Opinion. 


196 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


less  in  the  habit  of  visiting  houses  of  ill-fame?  If  this 
suggestion  has  any  weight  the  remedy  should  not  he  found 
in  reducing  the  pay,  but  in  encouraging  its  use  in  fields 
of  wholesome  recreation  and  more  domestic  life. 

Strong  pleas  are  made  for  family  life  as  a basis  of  a 
permanent  American  nation.  Col.  Roosevelt  has  made  a 
mighty  protest  against  “wilful  sterility”  and  others  have 
urged  the  duty  of  marriage.  Yet  here  is  a national  in- 
stitution, a government  enterprise,  exploring  the  country 
for  the  pick  of  young  physical  manhood  and  enrolling  these 
youthful  athletes  with  peremptory  conditions  which  prac- 
tically forbid  marriage.  Thus  government  is  itself  the 
greatest  anti-marriage  force  in  the  country — holding  from 
seventy  to  eighty  thousand  men  from  a partnership  in  the 
bonds  of  marriage  with  a like  number  of  women. 

Soldiers  are  servants  of  the  country — in  the  pay  of 
the  country.  Is  it  in  accordance  with  Twentieth  Century 
civilization  that  these  public  servants  shall  he  encouraged 
by  circumstances  to  make  war  on  the  honor  and  life  of 
girls,  or  else  be  consorts  af  abandoned  women,  sowing 
moral  wreckage  and  disease — while  the  semi-civilized  Fili- 
pino soldiers  marry,  and  by  contrast,  are  rarely  affected 
with  the  venereal  curse? 

What  is  worse?  Facility  of  access  is  permitted  and 
assumed  to  women  who  are,  first,  demoralized  by  men,  and 
who,  in  turn,  become  sources  of  physical  disease  and  moral 
death  to  men.  This  is  a concession — may  we  not  say  a 
provision — made  under  the  plea  that  “what  has  always 
been  must  always  he,”  and  that  the  only  possible  remedy 
is  to  regulate  these  women  and  keep  them  ready  for  the 
lusts  of  men,  with  as  little  physical  contagion  as  frequent 
surgery  may  make  possible,  thus  offering  a false  sense  of 


The  Venereal  Peril 


197 


security  against  diseases,  which,  increase  as  sexual  im- 
morality increases. 

But  there  is  surely  hope.  Let  the  army  authorities  add 
to  the  recommendations  referred  to  in  Surgeon  General 
Torney’s  report  one  other,  viz.;  that  provisions  may  be 
made  for  the  accommodation  of  soldiers’  wives  who  may 
substitute  a home  supper  table  for  the  mess  room  and  a 
domestic  sleeping  apartment  for  the  dormitory,  and  a 
mighty  reform  will  follow. 


An  important  note  on  this  subject  comes  from  an  arti- 
cle on  “Sanitary  Service  in  the  Russo-Japanese  War,”  trans- 
lated from  the  German  by  Louis  C.  Duncan,  Captain,  Medical 
Corps,  U.  S.  Army: 

“In  conclusion,  there  remains  one  great  factor  wliich 
causes  a large  amount  of  disease  in  all  standing  armies.  It 
is  the  venereal  infections.  Matignoii*  writes  thereon:  The 
Japanese  made  war  for  31  months  without  a woman.  It  is  a 
thing  unique  in  history. 

“The  Russian  troops  brought  in  their  camp-suite  a cor- 
tege of  official  prostitutes;  official  or  disguised  under  vari- 
ous appellations  denoting  a profession  not  far  removed  from 
their  true  one.” — The  Military  Surgeon  March,  1914. 


*Matignon:  Enselgnemento  Medicany  de  la  Guerre 

Russo-Japonaise,  Paris,  1910. 


THE  MAN’S  PART.  The  end  of  the  battle  is  not  yet 
for  those  girls  who  struggle  on  alone  and  unprotected 
with  their  more  pressing  financial  problems.  The  great- 
est menace  is  before  her — the  Man.  See  her  as  he 
meets  her  at  the  door  of  her  place  of  employment!  See 
her  as  she  returns  to  her  cheap  boarding  house ! Huddled 
away  among  coarse  and  vulgar  male  companions,  only, 
underfed  and  hungry — hungry  not  only  for  food,  but  for 
a decent  shelter,  for  a home,  for  friends,  for  a sympa- 
thetic touch  or  word;  tired  from  a hard  day’s  toil  even 
to  the  point  of  recklessness — starving  for  honest  pleas- 
ures and  amusements — and  with  what  does  she  meet? 
The  advances  of  men  without  either  a spark  of  bravery 
or  honor,  who  hunt  as  their  unlawful  prey  this  im- 
poverished girl,  this  defenseless  child  of  poverty,  un- 
protected, unloved  and  uncared  for  as  she  is  plunged 
into  the  swirling,  seething  stream  of  humanity;  the 
advances  of  men  who  are  so  low  that  they  have  lost 
even  a sense  of  sportsmanship,  and  who  seek  as  their 
game  an  underfed,  a tired  and  a lonely  girl. 

She  suffers,  but  what  of  him?  She  goes  down,  and 
is  finally  sacrificed  to  a life  of  shame,  but  what  of  him? 
He  escapes  as  a “romancer.”  It  is  not  just! — Chicago 
Vice  Commission  Report. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  ECONOMIC  QUESTION. 

I. 

“Is  it  possible  that,  in  the  bosom  of  civilization  itself,  may  be 
engendered  the  malady  which  shall  destroy  it?  Is  it  possible 
that  institutions  may  be  established  which,  without  the  help  of 
earthquake,  of  famine,  of  pestilence,  or  of  foreign  sword,  may 
undo  the  work  of  so  many  ages  of  wisdom  and  glory?”  Macaulay. 

When  Lord  ]\Iacaulay  wrote  this  striking  interroga- 
tory, public  thought  had  not  been  quickened  in  regard  to 
the  systems  of  regulation,  as  applied  to  the  social  evil,  and 
their  natural  product,  the  “white-slave  traffic”  in  rela- 
tion to  national  life  had  not  been  exposed  as  an  organized 
institution.  It  is,  however,  a fair  inference  that  the  social 
evil  may  have  been  the  “malady”  in  the  mind  of  Macau- 
lay, for,  of  all  causes,  history  points  to  this  as  the  most 
wasteful  destroyer  of  moral  and  physical  forces. 

Not  even  drunkenness  bears  such  intimate  and  all-per- 
vading relation  to  national  ruin  as  the  vices  of  the  sexes.' 

In  1880,  Mr.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  speaking  in  the  British 
Parliament,  said:  “That  calamities  inflicted  upon  man- 
kind by  the  three  great  historical  scourges  of  war,  pesti- 
lence, and  famine,  were  not  so  great,  because  not  so  con- 
tinuous, as  those  inflicted  upon  mankind  by  intemperance.” 

We  do  not  question  so  eminent  an  authority,  nor  would 
we,  if  we  could,  lessen  the  effect  of  such  a voice  against 
the  great  curse  of  intemperance,  but  it  is  probable  that, 
if  the  regulation  system,  as  applied  to  commercialized  vice, 
had  become  a public  issue — forced  upon  the  attention  of 


'See  Chart  on  Venerealism  and  Alcoholism,  Chap.  VII. 


200 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


statesmen — as  the  liquor  question  was  in  Mr.  Gladstone’s 
time,  he  would  have  coupled  these  two — intemperance  and 
inpurity — as  the  twin  demons  of  civilization. 

The  Social  Evil  has  ever  been  a most  serious  disturbing 
agent  in  economic  conditions.  In  this  respect  it  has  not 
even  the  claim  to  consideration  which  is  often  made  for  the 
liquor  traffic.  Human  lust,  with  all  its  allied  agencies,  pro- 
duces nothing;  it  never  adds  one  centime  to  the  general 
wealth.  It  knows  no  limitations  of  time  or  circumstance. 
War  is  its  cruel  ally;  peace  only  changes  the  form  and 
manner  of  its  ravages ; prosperity  feeds  its  insatiable  fire ; 
poverty  aids  in  the  capture  of  victims;  every  other  vice  is 
tributary  to  it.  All  the  time — night  and  day — through  the 
centuries,  the  passion  and  power  designed  by  the  Creator  to 
bless  and  perpetuate  life,  are  perverted,  and  the  poisoned 
current  flows  on — wasting  resources,  cutting  off  life  and 
health  at  their  fountain,  and  destroying  them  in  their 
prime. 

This  evil  is  as  disastrous  to  the  material  interests  of  man- 
kind as  it  is  to  their  moral  and  physical  welfare.  If  it 
were  possible  to  submit  by  a Board  of  Actuaries  an  item- 
ized account  of  all  the  drafts  made  upon  personal  and 
public  wealth,  through  the  channels  of  commercialized  vice, 
the  audit  would  stagger  the  world. 

The  traffic  is  called  slavery ; but  even  negro  slavery  was 
productive  of  wealth.  The  slavery  of  vice  not  only  pro- 
duces nothing,  but  is  wholly  an  absolute  waste.  It  is  a 
waste  of  wealth  and  destruction  of  the  wealth  producer. 

Considered,  merely  as  an  economic  factor,  the  highest 
value  in  the  world  is  a human  being.  If  we  could  com- 
pute the  human  values  daily  destroyed  by  this  vice,  we 
should  face  the  greatest  of  all  losses  to  the  sum-total  of  the 


The  Economic  Question 


201 


world’s  resources.  For  it  is  the  most  prevalent  and  destruc- 
tive of  all  evils. 

Think  of  the  women  withdrawn,  or  withheld,  from  all 
forms  of  useful  and  happy  life,  and  condemned  to  a brief 
period  of  riot  and  ruin.  At  the  lowest  estimate,  there  are 
in  the  United  States  from  three  to  four  hundred  thousand 
young  girls  and  women,  living  on  the  price  of  shame,  and 
doomed  to  disease  and  early  death  at  the  expense  of  the 
commonwealth.  And  this  is  only  an  incident.  There  are 
thousands  of  houses  that  ought  to  be  dwellings  of  men  and 
women;  instead,  they  are  high-priced  shambles  of  physical 
pestilence,  moral  decay,  and  financial  ruin. 

Think  again,  of  the  bill  of  expenditures — the  liquor  at 
four-fold  prices,  the  incidental  robberies,  the  midnight 
revels,  the  plunder  by  keepers  of  dens,  the  vile  gangs  of 
pimps,  panders  and  cadets,  the  cost  of  fines  and  prisons  and 
the  plunder  of  police-graft.  All  this,  and  much  more,  is 
drained  from  the  products  of  labor  through  the  channels  of 
the  commerce  of  vice. 

The  Report  of  the  Vice  Commission  of  Chicago  declares 
that  the  annual  profits  of  the  vice  traffic  in  that  city 
amounts  to  more  than  fifteen  million  dollars  ($15,000,000.- 
00)  controlled  largely  by  men.  The  profit-sharers  are 
described  as  those  who  profit  off  of  the  place  of  busi- 
ness— ^the  landlord,  agent,  janitor,  amusement  dealer, 
brewer  and  furniture  dealer ; those  who  profit  off  of  the  act 
are  the  keeper,  procurer,  druggist,  physician,  midwife, 
police  officer  and  politician. 

As  Dean  Walter  T.  Sumner,  the  chairman  of  the  Vice 
Commission,  pointed  out,  this  estimate  of  more  than  fifteen 
millions  of  profit  means  that  the  expenditures  for  this  vice 
in  Chicago  is  not  less  than  sixty  millions  of  dollars  an- 
nually. 


202 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


In  May,  1913,  the  Philadelphia  Vice  Commission  re- 
ported its  work  of  investigation  under  the  direction  of  the 
American  Vigilance  Association.  The  Commission  esti- 
mated that  the  receipts  of  what  are  called  “parlor  houses” 
are  at  least  $300  a week.  They  found  156  of  these  parlor 
houses.  The  investigators  found  also  in  this  City  approx- 
imately 2,000  street-walkers  and  the  estimate  given  of  the 
average  receipts  of  these  women  is  $25.00  per  week.  The 
report  of  the  Commissioners  gives  the  following  as  a sum- 
mary of  the  total  estimated  expenditures  in  that  City 
directly  to  vice,  and  state,  “we  are  thoroughly  convinced 
that  this  is  an  underestimate  rather  than  an  overestimate : ’ ’ 


Parlor  Houses  2,433,600 

Call  Houses  1,216,800 

Street-walkers  2,600,000 


Total  6,250,400 


“The  wage-earning  power  of  working  people  depends  on  their 
industrial  etiiciency,  and  this  efficiency  is  impaired  by  any 
habits  or  diseases  which  lower  vitality,  shorten  life,  or  hinder 
the  normal  growth  of  a healthy  population.  Many  of  the  feeble 
minded,  insane,  blind,  and  deaf  which  have  become  a heavy 
burden  upon  the  finances  of  modern  states  have  fallen  into  a 
state  of  dependence  through  inheritance  of  the  effects  of  vicious 
indulgence  and  venereal  disease  in  their  parents  and  more  re- 
mote ancestors. 

The  cost  of  medical  treatment  by  physicians,  hospitals,  and 
unscrupulous  “specialists”  must  be  enormous.  To  our  national 
shame  be  it  said,  much  of  this  expenditure  goes  to  paid  ad- 
vertisements of  the  lowest  type  of  doctors  in  newspapers  which 
are  taken  into  respectable  families  and  supported  by  the  ad- 
vertisements of  great  merchants. 

Some  idea  of  the  economic  loss  from  venereal  diseases  may 
be  gained  by  using  such  statistics  as  we  have.  Only  a 
part  of  those  affected  enter  hospitals,  yet  the  figures  for 
these  are  startling  enough.  In  Prussian  hospitals  in  1877-99 
about  240,000  persons,  or  58  per  cent,  of  all  patients  were  treated 


The  Economic  Question  203 

for  venereal  disorders.  In  more  northern  lands,  because  greater 
care  is  taken,  a larger  ratio  obtains:  in  Norway  in  1859-70  an- 
nually 0.86  per  cent  of  the  entire  population,  in  Sweden  1.24  per 
cent,  in  Denmark  2.03  per  cent.,  in  Finland  2.27  per  cent  An 
official  Inquiry  in  Prussia,  answered  by  only  63  per  cent,  of  the 
physicians,  showed  that  on  one  day,  April  30,  1900,  about 

41.000  persons  were  treated.  It  is  thought  that  in  all  Germany 

100.000  were  under  care  of  physicians  that  day.  Kirchner 
estimated  the  economic  loss  to  Prussia  alone  from  this  cause  at 
90,000,000  marks  annually. 

In  the  great  cities  the  situation  is  worse.  In  Christiana  the 
average  sick  in  1859-70  were  7.66  per  cent,  of  population;  in 
Stockholm,  16.04  per  cent;  in  Copenhagen,  25.5  per  cent.  In 
Russia  where  these  maladies  are  rife,  it  is  estimated  that  13  to 
23  per  cent  of  the  population  is  infected  and  in  some  provinces 
almost  all  are  syphilitic. 

In  Berlin  the  number  of  new  cases  of  syphilis  is  estimated 
to  be  5,000  each  year,  in  Paris  8,000  to  10,000.  On  April  30, 
1900,  the  cases  of  venereal  patients  reported  by  physicians  were 
10  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  of  Berlin.  In  Copenhagen, 
where  the  records  are  unusually  complete,  the  number  of  new 
cases  of  gonorrhea  reported  annually  is  56,000,  or  about  one- 
half  the  population. 

Of  8,500,000  persons  insured  in  the  sickness  funds  of  Ger- 
many 6 per  cent.,  or  more  than  500,000  are  annually  afflicted 
with  venereal  diseases.  In  Berlin  3.6  per  cent,  of  the  soldiers, 
8 per  cent,  of  workmen,  13.5  per  cent,  of  female  waiters,  16.4 
per  cent,  of  young  salesmen,  and  25  per  cent,  of  students  in  the 
sickness  insurance  associations  were  treated  for  venereal  dis- 
eases.”* 

In  May,  1903,  McClure’s  Magazine  published  the  fol- 
lowing from  the  pen  of  Lincoln  Steffen : 

“Disorderly  houses  are  managed  by  ward  syndicates.  Per- 
mission is  had  from  the  syndicate  real-estate  agent,  who  alone 
can  rent  them.  The  syndicate  hires  the  houses  from  the  owners 
at,  say  $35  a month,  and  he  lets  it  to  a woman  at  from  $35  to 
$50  a week.  For  furniture  the  tenant  must  go  to  the  ‘official 


*Dr.  Chas.  R.  Henderson. 


204 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


furniture  man,’  who  delivers  $1,000  worth  of  ‘fixings’  for  a 
note  for  $3,000,  on  which  high  interest  must  be  paid.  For  beer 
the  tenant  must  go  to  the  ‘official  bottler,’  and  pay  $2  for  a 
one-dollar  case  of  beer;  for  wines  and  liquors  to  the  ‘official 
liquor  commissioner,’  who  charges  $10  for  five  dollars’  worth; 
for  clothes  to  the  ‘official  wrapper-maker.’  These  women  may 
not  buy  shoes,  hats,  jewelry,  or  any  other  luxury  or  necessity 
except  from  the  official  concessionaires,  and  then  only  at  the 
official,  monopoly  prices.  If  the  victims  have  anything  left,  a 
police  or  some  other  city  official  is  said  to  call  and  get  it 
(there  are  rich  ex-police  officials  in  Pittsburg.”) 

All  these  are  leeches  which  fatten  upon  the  poor  bodies 
of  girls, — girls  having  a natural  and  a citizen’s  right  to 
protection  from  these  rapacious  and  contemptible  blood- 
suckers. 

If  these  many  thousands  of  female  victims  of  the  traffic 
in  the  United  States  live  only  an  average  of  five  or  six  years, 
when  they  would,  in  domestic  life,  live  twenty,  thirty,  or 
forty  years,  what  an  untold  wealth  of  life’s  highest  values 
is  thus  consumed ! 

Think  also  of  the  man — young  men — for  it  is  mostly  in 
their  youth  and  prime  that  men  are  blasted  by  the  poison  of 
this  vice — often  the  brightest  and  strongest,  who  go  down 
to  death  through  commerce  in  lust.  Society  loses  thou- 
sands on  thousands  of  its  ablest  men,  men  of  affairs,  busi- 
ness and  professional  men,  some  of  whom  pass  out  and  are 
buried  with  a medical  certificate  which  does  not  hint  at  the 
truth,  while  others  are  living  victims,  slowly  djung — vic- 
tims, weakened,  depraved,  diseased,  insane.  How  many 
thousands  of  women  and  children  are  there,  doomed  to 
carry,  in  their  afflicted  bodies,  a disease  which  to  them  is 
unspeakable, — to  suffer  pangs,  and  pains  of  surgery  and 
drugs,  ending  in  untimely  death ! These  who  are  sacri- 
ficed are  revealed  only  to  the  physician,  and  not  all  of  them 


The  Economic  Question 


205 


to  him.  The  economic  measure  of  them  can  never  be  com- 
puted. 

Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow  points  out  that  Venerealism  is 
one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  causation  of  the 
destitution  which  requires  relief.  The  prevention  of  disease 
which  transforms  the  bread  winner  into  the  dependent  up- 
on charity,  has  a most  important  economic  as  well  as  a hu- 
manitarian value.  “American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July, 
1907.”  Dr.  Morrow  also  says:  “The  fact  that  these  dis- 
eases constitute  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  causation  of 
blindness,  deaf-mutism,  idiocy,  insanity,  paralysis,  locomotor 
ataxia,  and  other  incapacitating  and  incurable  affections, 
imposes  an  enormous  charge  upon  the  State  and  community. 
Millions  of  dollars  are  contributed  to  the  support  of  de- 
fectives, but  not  a dollar  for  the  dissemination  of  the  sav- 
ing knowledge  which  might  prevent.” 

“The  frequency  of  venereal  diseases  varies  with  nations,  with 
districts,  and  especially,  with  density  of  population.  For  ex- 
ample, in  Germany,  these  diseases  are  more  frequent  in  northern 
than  in  southern  districts;  more  prevalent  in  the  northeast  than 
in  the  west,  in  cities,  than  in  rural  regions.  Of  the  male  popu- 
lation of  Prussia  on  April  30,  1900,  28  in  1,000  were  infected; 
in  Berlin  142  in  1,000;  in  cities  with  over  100,000  inhabitants, 
100  in  1,000;  in  cities  of  over  30,000  inhabitants,  45  in  1,000; 
in  the  army,  15  in  1,000.  The  frequency  of  these  maladies  varies 
also  with  the  social  classes.  Thus  in  Berlin,  of  soldiers  in  the 
garrison,  4 to  5 per  cent,  are  annually  affected;  of  wage  earners 
in  the  central  sickness  insurance  association,  8 per  cent.;  of 
female  waiters  registered  in  the  local  sickness  insurance  as- 
sociation 13.5  per  cent.;  but  the  police  records  show  30  per 
cent,  of  same  class;  salesmen  16.5  per  cent.;  students  in  the 
sickness  insurance  association  25  per  cent.  The  figures  for 
students  reveal  a very  discouraging  condition. 

Of  12,000,000  persons  in  the  German  workingmen’s  insur- 
ance associations  about  6 per  cent.,  or  750,000  persons  require 
medical  treatment  and  hospital  care  at  an  annual  cost  of  at 


206 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


least  six  to  seven  million  marks  (about  $1,500,000  to  $1,750,000). 
To  this  loss  must  be  added  the  loss  of  wages  and  productive 
labor  caused  by  sickness,  weakness,  and  the  physical  conse- 
quences of  the  attacks. 

Economic  loss  implies  diminution  of  the  opportunities  of 
culture;  and  so  venereal  excesses  and  diseases  hoth  directly 
and  indirectly  affect  adversely  the  educational  process.”' 

Life  as  an  Economic  Asset  : — This  is  ably  set  forth  in 
a government  report  issued  March  8,  1910.  The  report  is 
edited  by  Irving  Fisher,  Professor  of  Political  Economy, 
Yale  University. 

The  loss  of  values  to  the  nation  through  venereal  disease 
may  appear  from  facts  given  in  this  report  as  follows: 

1.  On  the  money  value  of  increased  vitality. 

Taking  the  estimates  of  Dr.  Farr  of  England,  which  are 
based  “upon  the  best  method  of  estimating  the  economic 
value  of  life”  the  report  presents  a table  showing  the  net 
worth  of  a person  at  birth,  as  $90.00;  at  five  years  as 
$950.00;  at  ten,  as  $2,000.00;  at  twenty,  as  $4,000.00;  at 
thirty,  as  $4,100.00;  at  fifty,  as  $2,900.00;  at  80,  as  $700.00. 

President  David  Starr  Jordan,  of  Leland  Stanford,  Jr., 
University  of  California  accepts  these  figures  of  the  value  at 
50,  and  adds : 

“On  this  basis,  our  vital  assets  could  be  reckoned  at, 
roughly,  two  hundred  and  fifty  billion  dollars.  Against 
this,  set  the  one  hundred  and  ten  billions  of  doUars  at 
which  the  physical  wealth  of  the  United  States  is  figured, 
and  even  the  most  arrant  materialist  will  admit  that  the 
conservation  of  human  life  is  more  important  than  the  con- 
servation of  forests  or  the  eradication  of  diseases  among 
cattle  and  hogs.” 

Dr.  Harvey  W.  Wiley,  Chief  of  the  Chemistry  Bureau 

'Dr.  Chas.  R.  Henderson,  The  Eighth  Yearhook  of  the  Eo 
tional  Society  for  the  Scientific  Study  of  Education. 


The  Economic  Question 


207 


of  the  Federal  Department  of  Agriculture,  points  to  the 
supreme  value  of  human  health  and  life  as  factors  in  the 
Nation’s  wealth.  He  says: 

“If,  in  the  remote  future,  coal,  iron,  gold  and  silver 
should  become  extinct,  science  would  provide  substitutes.  But 
there  is  another  natural  asset,  lying  at  the  very  basis  of 
the  prosperity  of  the  country,  which  is  sometimes  overlooked, 
namely,  the  normal  function  of  the  human  machine,  commonly 
expressed  by  the  term  ‘health.’  This  has  more  to  do  with  the 
happiness,  prosperity  and  utility  of  the  human  organism  than 
any  of  the  other  natural  assets  which  I have  mentioned.” 

Dr.  Wiley  estimated  the  health  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  terms  of  money,  at  $540,000,000,000.  This 
he  made  “on  the  basis  of  $600.00  per  capita,  average  annual 
earnings,  each  representing  a capital  of  $12,000  at  5 per 
cent.  ’ ’ 

To  conserve  this  gigantic  national  asset,  Dr.  Wiley  calls 
for  a national  department  of  health.  Such  a department 
would  find  its  greatest  claim  for  service  in  the  subject  of 
sex  hygiene. 

“If  we  take  the  estimate  of  Professor  Willcox  of  the 
death:  rate  in  the  United  States,  as  at  least  18  per  1,000  for 
the  85,500,000  persons  estimated  by  the  census  as  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States  in  1907,  we  have  1,500,000  as  the 
number  of  deaths  in  the  United  States  per  annum.  Of  these 
1,500,000  deaths,  42  per  cent.,  or  630,000,  are  annually 
preventable  or  postponable.  Since  each  postponement  would 
save  on  the  average  $1,700,  the  national  annual  unneces- 
sary loss  of  capitalized  net  earnings  is  630,000X$1,700,  or 
$1,070,000,000  or  about  $1,000,000,000.” 

If  the  yearly  loss  of  life  through  venereal  disorders  in 
the  United  States  is  estimated  at  50,000,  which,  according 
to -authorities,  is  a very  low  estimate,  and  taking  the  value 


208 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


of  human  life  at  the  above  stated  average,  we  have  in  this 
one  item  50,000X$1,700=$85,000,000  annual  loss. 

The  relation  of  the  subject  to  these  vital  statistics  may- 
be further  seen  on  reference  to  another  section  of  the  same 
report — the  Section  of  Hygiene.  Most  instructive,  although 
alarming,  are  the  following  paragraphs: 

1.  One  disease,  syphilis,  infects  the  blood  and  there- 
with all  parts  of  the  body.  While  under  proper  treatment 
the  disease  is  not  always  dangerous  to  life  in  the  earlier 
years,  yet  the  possibilities  of  transmitting  the  contagion 
should  forbid  marriage  for  at  least  three  years. 

2.  The  leading  insurance  companies  refuse  to  insure 
the  life  of  a syphilitic  person  for  four  or  five  years  after 
the  disease  was  contracted,  and  then  only  upon  special 
terms,  for  their  records  prove  that  syphilis  shortens  life. 

3.  That  the  syphilitic  parent  may  transmit  the  disease 
to  his  offspring  is  common  knowledge.  Some  of  his  chil- 
dren are  destroyed  by  the  inherited  disease  before  birth; 
others  are  born  to  a brief  and  sickly  span  of  life ; others 
attain  maturity,  seriously  handicapped  in  the  race  of  life 
by  a burden  of  ill  health,  incapacity,  and  misery  produced 
by  the  inherited  taint,  while  still  others  escape  these  evil 
effects. 

One  of  the  saddest  facts  in  both  cases  is  that  the  parent 
may  escape  and  the  children  reap  the  results  in  insanity, 
tendency  to  consumption,  and  prostitution. 

Gonorrhea,  while  usually  cured  without  apparent  loss 
of  health,  has  always  serious  possibilities ; it  kills  about  1 in 
200 ; it  impairs  the  sexual  power  and  fertility  of  a much 
larger  number ; it  often  produces  urethral  strictures,  which 
later  may  cause  loss  of  life. 

4.  The  persistence  of  gonorrhea  in  the  deeper  parts 
long  after  it  is  outwardly  cured  leads  to  the  unsuspected 


The  Economic  Question 


209 


communication  of  the  disease  to  women  with  whom  the  in- 
dividual may  cohabit.  Much  of  the  surgery  performed  up- 
on women  has  been  rendered  necessary  by  gonorrhea  con- 
tracted from  the  husband.  Should  she  while  infected  with 
this  disease  give  birth  to  a child,  the  baby’s  eyes  may  be 
attacked  by  the  infection,  sometimes  with  immediate  loss  of 
sight.  Probably  25  per  cent,  of  the  blindness  of  children  is 
thus  caused.  National  Vitality:  Its  Wastes  and  Conserva- 
tion. Senate  Document,  No.  419.  Presented  hy  Senator 
Owen. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  economic  aspect  of  our  subject,  we 
quote  again  from  this  report  on  “National  Vitality:” 

‘ ‘ Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow  says  that  the  number  of  syphili- 
tics in  the  United  States  has  been  estimated  at  2,000,000. 
This  disease  is  not  only  in  itself  a danger,  but  it  also  causes 
a large  number  of  diseases  of  the  circulatory  and  nervous 
systems. 

‘ ‘ Dr.  Morrow  says  that  the  extermination  of  social  dis- 
eases would  probably  mean  the  elimination  of  at  least  one- 
half  of  our  institutions  for  defectives.  The  loss  of  citizens 
to  the  State  from  the  sterilizing  influence  of  gonorrhea 
upon  the  productive  energy  of  the  family,  and  the  blighting 
destructive  effect  of  syphilis  upon  the  offspring  are  enorm- 
ous. In  the  opinion  of  very  competent  judges  social  disease 
constitutes  the  most  powerful  of  all  factors  in  the  degenera- 
tion and  depopulation  of  the  world. 

“What  syphilis  and  gonorrhea  represent  in  the  lowered 
working  efficiency  of  our  population — to  say  nothing  of  the 
still  more  important  subject  of  increased  mortality — is  im- 
possible to  estimate;  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  overem- 
phasize the  grave  danger  to  national  efficiency  from  these 
and  the  other  venereal  diseases.” 


210 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Summing  up  in  review,  we  have  these  various  items  of 
incalculable  cost : 

A.  Women  and  girls  withdrawn  from  normal  service 
and  slain  in  the  markets  of  vice. 

B.  Young  men,  in  the  prime  of  youthful  manhood, 
become  burdens  upon  the  public  purse,  instead  of  pro- 
ducers. 

C.  Women  and  children,  innocent  \dctims,  doomed  by 
disease,  and  sacrificed  in  suffering  and  death. 

D.  A multitude  of  hangers-on,  “profit-sharers”  so- 
called,  as  described  by  the  New  York  Committee  of  Fourteen 
and  the  Vice  Commissioners’  Eeports  of  several  cities. 

E.  Constant  drain  upon  national  strength,  as  shown  in 
the  Report  on  “National  Vitality” — paragraphs  quoted. 
Nos.  1,  2,  3 and  4. 

F.  Estimate,  quoted  by  Dr.  Morrow,  of  two  million 
syphilitic  sufferers  in  the  United  States.  This  is  almost 
equal  to  the  population  of  our  second  largest  city.  Think 
of  a great  city  of  two  millions,  every  man,  woman  and 
child,  suffering  from  the  most  loathsome  and  disreputable 
of  all  diseases — fatal  to  bodily  vigor  and  life. 

G.  Twenty-two  of  every  1,000  of  our  soldiers  in  the 
Philippines  were  constantly  disabled  from  venereal  diseases 
— four  times  as  many  as  from  any  other  disease. 

H.  In  tbe  Navjq  in  four  years,  949  men  were  dis- 
charged as  disabled — useless — from  the  same  cause,  and 
more  than  a fourth  of  all  the  sickness  in  the  Na\T»^  was 
occasioned  by  it. 

Appalling  price  to  pay? — above  all  calculation — a price 
that  no  people  can  continue  to  pay  and  remain  solvent ! — a 
price  that  has  involved  many  ancient  cities  and  nations  in 
bankruptcy  and  dissolution ! 

The  greatest  items  of  Government  expenditure  are  those 


The  Economic  Question 


211 


of  our  Army  and  Navy.  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  Chapter 
VII  he  may  see  that,  by  far  the  most  serious  of  all  causes 
of  disability  of  the  men  in  both  these  wings  of  service,  are 
classed  as  venereal  diseases.  A study  of  the  table  in  the 
same  chapter  on  the  two  evils  of  “Alcoholism  and  Vene- 
realism”  will  show  that  the  latter  exceeds  all  others  in  its 
disastrous  effects  upon  the  physical  forces  of  both  army  and 
navy.  Think  of  800  men  constantly  disabled,  and  that 
the  loss  of  service  in  the  Navy  equals  the  force  of  three 
battleships  for  a whole  month  of  the  year,  each  battleship 
having  1,000  officers  and  men ! 

Colonel  Kean  shows  that  the  loss  of  service  in  the  army, 
in  the  year  1908,  equaled  106,526  days,  which  represent  a 
loss  of  $200,000  in  that  one  way  alone. 

If  we  add  to  these  items  of  cost  the  losses  to  the  coun- 
try involved  in  the  broken  health  and  weakened  bodies  of 
men  for  all  future  service,  not  in  the  Army  and  Navy  only, 
but  in  all  branches  of  economic  service,  it  would  probably 
show  the  greatest  waste  of  forces  known  to  mankind. 

The  American  Federation  for  Sex  Hygiene  prepared  a 
series  of  exhibits  which  were  described  in  the  press  of 
October,  1912.  One  of  the  charts  gave  the  following  figures 
of  how  we  spend  our  money  in  the  United  States : 

Immorality  and  the  social  diseases  (esti- 


mated)   $3,000,000,000 

Intoxicating  liquors  2,000,000,000 

Tobacco  1,200,000,000 

Jewelry  and  plate  800,000,000 

Automobiles  500,000,000 

Church  work  at  home  250,000,000 

Confectionery  200,000,000 

Soft  drinks  120,000,000 

Tea  and  coffee  100,000,000 

Millinery  90,000,000 

Patent  medicines  80,000,000 

Chewing  gum  13,000,000 

Foreign  missions  12,000,000 


212 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


The  losses  which  directly  fall  upon  productive  service 
through  vice  are,  as  we  have  seen,  beyond  calculation.  But 
there  are  also  other  losses  which  must  be  charged  up  against 
it.  Summarized,  they  may  be  stated  thus : 

1.  Losses  of  time  and  labor  of  those  withdrawn  by  it 
from  service. 

2.  Loss  from  wasted  or  non-producing  capital  em- 
ployed in  the  vice  traffic. 

3.  Losses  through  deterioration  of  manhood  and  wom- 
anhood in  skill  and  power. 

4.  Losses  through  wasted  physical  life  and  health. 

5.  Losses  by  increased  taxation  for  hospitals,  insane 
asylums,  and  care  of  the  diseased  and  dying.  The  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois  alone  voted  nine  millions 
of  dollars  at  its  session  of  1911  for  the  support  of  these  in- 
stitutions, and  it  is  admitted  by  the  most  competent  authori- 
ties that  the  larger  portion  of  this — if  not  all — would  have 
been  unnecessary  but  for  the  diseases  occasioned  by  drunk- 
enness and  vice. 

6.  Loss  by  diverting  the  service  of  police  from  the 
protection  of  property  and  life  to  the  protection  of  the 
institutions  of  vice  and  incidental  crime. 

7.  Losses  arising  from  demoralized  manhood,  woman- 
hood and  childhood,  which  greatly  increase  the  cost  of 
political,  religious,  social  and  educational  progress. 

Considered  from  one  other  standpoint,  we  might  inquire 
as  to  the  effect  of  the  withdrawal  from  legitimate  and  pro- 
ductive business  of  all  the  vast  expenditure  of  capital  and 
earnings  in  the  business  of  commercialized  vice. 

Suppose  that  the  trinity  of  unlawful  and  destructive 
trades,  gambling,  drink  and  lust,  were  stopped  for  a single 
year,  what  an  immeasurable  change  it  would  make  on  both 
sides  of  the  Nation’s  ledger  accounts. 


The  Economic  Question 


213 


The  Credit  side  would  show  the  increased  earnings  of 
billions  turned  from  markets  of  waste  and  destruction  to 
those  of  blessing  and  production — plus  the  savings  of  in- 
calculable millions,  the  present  cost  of  disease,  insanity, 
crime  and  poverty  occasioned  by  those  evils. 

The  Debit  side  would  shrink  so  perceptibly  that  the 
Government  of  cities,  states  and  nation  would  have  to  re- 
duce taxation,  or  find  new  avenues  for  the  expenditure  of 
their  revenues.  Police  service  could  be  turned  to  purposes 
of  public  safety.  Criminal  law  courts  might  take  long 
terms  of  vacation ; half  the  insane  asylums  might  be  con- 
verted into  schools  and  the  cost  of  penitentiaries  would  be 
cut  in  two. 

If,  to  all  this,  the  moral  values  could  be  put  into  the 
scale,  we  would  have  to  estimate  the  worth  of  a soul  as 
greater  than  a whole  world  of  material  wealth,  and  then 
add  to  it  as  many  worlds  as  there  are  souls — lost  through 
these  devils’  agents. 

Turning  from  the  general  to  the  individual  view  of  the 
subject,  no  greater  error  has  ever  been  made  current  than 
that  a prostitute  is  cheaper  than  a wife  or  that  the  patron- 
age of  a brothel  is  less  costly  than  a home. 

This  is  one  of  the  lies,  current  along  the  roadway  to 
hell.  If  the  circumstances  of  a youth  do  not  justify  mar- 
riage, much  less  will  they  warrant  a visit  to  the  house  of 
shame.  Apart  altogether  from  the  dangers  which  attend  a 
single  visit  to  such  a den,  it  is  the  first  step  downward,  and 
the  most  costly  that  a poor  man  can  indulge  in.  It  is  the  be- 
ginning of  financial  decline  and  home  is  placed  further  off  by 
every  visit.  Mr.  Conwell,  in  his  excellent  book,  ‘ ‘ Manhood ’s 
Morning,  ’ ’ quotes  a famous  lecturer  as  saying ; ‘ ‘ The  rea- 
son there  are  so  few  marriages  is  because  there  are  so  many 
young  men  in  jails  and  penitentiaries ; tramping  the  coun- 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


214 

try  and  loafing  on  street  corners ; spending  their  money  in 
saloons  and  in  questionable  resorts  and  wasting  the  flower 
of  their  manhood  in  dissipation.”  Let  us  add  to  this  a 
warning  that  the  “flower  of  manhood  is  wasted”  before  a 
youth  reaches  the  place  described  by  the  lecturer.  It  is  in 
those  beginning  steps  that  “manhood’s  morning”  is 
blighted.  And  unless  the  young  men  of  America  will  make 
choice  of  a humble  home  and  a pure  wife,  in  preference  to 
the  poor  lost  woman  of  the  brothel,  our  poet  will  cry  in 
vain : — 

“God  give  us  men — * * * 

Great  hearts,  strong  minds,  true  faith  and  ready  hands.” 

“Anyone  that  recklessly  impairs,  imperils,  and  weakens 
bodily  powers  by  bad  hours  and  sensualities  is  a suicide.” 

COST  OF  THE  SOCIAL  EVIL. 

II. 

LOW  WAGES  AS  A MENACE  TO  VICE. 

“The  life  of  an  unprotected  girl  who  tries  to  make  a living 
in  a great  city  is  full  of  torturing  temptations.  First,  she 
faces  the  problem  of  living  on  an  inadequate  wage:  Six  dollars 
a week  is  the  average  in  mercantile  establishments.  If  she 
were  living  at  home  where  the  mother  and  sister  could  help 
her  with  mending,  sewing  and  washing,  where  her  board  would 
be  small — perhaps  only  a dollar  or  two  towards  the  burden 
carried  by  the  other  members  of  the  family — where  her  lunch 
would  come  from  the  family  larder — then  her  condition  might 
be  as  good  as  if  she  earned  eight  dollars  per  week. 

“The  girl  who  has  no  home  soon  learns  of  “city  poverty” 
all  the  more  cruel  to  her  because  of  the  artificial  contrasts. 
She  quickly  learns  of  the  possibilities  about  her,  of  the  joys 
of  comfort,  good  food,  entertainment,  attractive  clothes.  Pov- 
erty becomes  a menace  and  a snare.  One  who  has  not  beheld 
the  struggle  or  come  in  personal  contact  with  the  tempted  soul 
of  the  underpaid  girl  can  never  realize  what  the  poverty  of 


The  Economic  Question 


215 


the  city  means  to  her.  One  who  has  never  seen  her  bravely 
fighting  against  such  fearful  odds  will  never  understand.  A day’s 
sickness  or  a week  out  of  work  are  tragedies  in  her  life.  They 
mean  trips  to  the  pawnbroker’s,  meagre  dinners,  a weakened 
will,  often  a plunge  into  the  abyss  from  which  she  so  often  never 
escapes.”  Chicago  Vice  Commission  Report,  page  42. 

In  all  our  large  cities  there  are  thousands  of  girls  strug- 
gling to  make  ends  meet,  with  a few  dollars  at  one  end,  and 
clothing,  shelter  and  food,  at  the  other. 

“The  census  of  1900  gave  the  total  breadwinners  under 
fifteen  years,  as  1,750,000.  Here  is  a little  army — no,  a vast 
army — of  little  soldiers,  whose  sad  and  silent  files  are  full 
of  menace  for  the  republic.”^ 

Miss  Jane  Addams  tells  of  the  wreck  of  a young  girl 
who  came  from  the  country  to  Chicago,  and  the  highest 
wages  she  could  obtain  in  a department  store  was  five  dol- 
lars per  week.  And  this  was  but  one  of  many  thousands, 
for,  as  Miss  Addams  points  out,  official  reports  show  that 
the  average  employee  in  department  stores  earns  about 
seven  dollars  a week. 

Another  incident  which  Miss  Addams  gives  is  of  a Rus- 
sian girl,  who  “quite  recently  took  a place  in  a Chicago 
clothing  factory  at  twenty  cents  a day,  without  in  the  least 
knowing  that  she  was  undercutting  even  that  ill-paid  in- 
dustry. The  girl  rented  a room  for  a dollar  a week,  and  all 
she  had  to  eat  was  given  her  by  a friend  in  the  same  lodg- 
ing house  who  shared  her  scanty  fare.  ’ ’ 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  class  of  persons  in 
the  present  age  is  subject  to  so  much  danger,  with  so  little 
preparation  or  protection,  as  the  young  girl  who  enters  the 
great  army  of  wage  earners  for  a living. 

Miss  Addams  calls  attention  to  the  census  reports  of  the 


*‘‘The  Spirit  of  America,”  Van  Dyke. 


216 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


United  States  which  indicate  that  “self-supporting  girls 
are  steadily  increasing  in  number  each  decade,  until  59  per 
cent,  of  all  young  women  in  the  nation,  between  the  ages  of 
16  and  20  years,  are  now  engaged  in  some  gainful  occupa- 
tion. ’ 

The  “Industrial  Banner,’’  in  pleading  the  cause  of  girl 
workers,  says: 

“Just  think  of  it,  55  cents  a day  the  average  wages  paid  In 
American  factories  to  girls  under  16  years  of  age.  Three  dollars 
and  30  cents  per  week  to  clothe  and  feed  themselves  and  live 
respectably.  Thousands  of  girls  of  16  years  of  age  earn  less 
than  ?3.30  per  week,  a vast  army  of  them  get  no  more  than 
|2  per  week,  and  some  even  less  than  this.  Even  this,  bad  as  it 
is,  is  not  the  worst  feature,  either. 

“The  majority  of  these  girls  work  in  insanitary  workshops, 
the  more  favored  working  10  hours  per  day,  the  less  fortunate, 
longer.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  living  under  such  inhuman  con- 
ditions tuberculosis  carries  off  its  victims  by  the  hundreds?  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  discouraged  and  hopeless  thousands  of  these 
girls  drift  out  upon  the  street?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  scores  of 
them  commit  suicide  every  year?  How  is  it  possible  for  a girl 
to  live  on  such  wages,  or  to  lead  a moral  life  under  such  con- 
ditions?” 

Col.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  in  pleading  for  the  “Con- 
servation of  Womanhood  and  Childhood’’  in  the  December 
(1911)  Number  of  The  Outlook,  says  that  in  New  York  state 
“the  canners  sometimes  require  women  to  work  for  seventy 
or  eighty  hours  a week”  and  that  a bill  for  limiting  these 
hours  was  defeated  in  the  Senate  “by  the  action  of  the 
canners.  ” “ Both  official  and  private  investigations  agree,  ’ ’ 
says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  “that  canners  employ  young  girls  and 
women  shockingly  long  hours — sometimes  up  to  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  hours  a week.  I ask  you  to  picture  for  your- 


‘A  New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient  Evil,  pp.  62,  80. 


The  Economic  Question 


217 


selves  the  wearing  exhaustion,  the  hopeless  drain  of  vitality, 
which  such  figures  mean.  ’ ’ 

Mr.  Roosevelt  quotes  figures  to  show  the  hours  of  wom- 
en’s work  in  respective  states  and  says  that  “New  York  is 
behind  many  of  the  states  in  protecting  factory  workers.” 

58-hour  week,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Minnesota,  New 
Hampshire. 

56-hour  week,  Rhode  Island. 

55-hour  week,  Wisconsin. 

54-hour  week,  Massachusetts,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Missouri, 
Utah. 

48-hour  week,  Arizona,  California,  Washington. 

The  Illinois  State  legislature  passed  a bill  at  its  last 
session,  limiting  a woman’s  working  day  to  ten  hours. 

The  great  public  who  daily  use  canned  goods  have  little 
conception  that  they  are  put  up  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
at  the  cost  of  barbarous  conditions  of  child  slavery.  “One 
of  the  crying  abuses,  ’ ’ says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  ‘ ‘ connected  with 
child  labor  in  this  state  is  the  employment  of  hundreds  of 
children,  five  years  of  age  and  upwards,  in  connection  with 
the  fruit  and  vegetable  canning  factories  in  the  State.  Their 
work  has  been  held  to  be  agricultural.  But  it  is  in  no  sense 
agricultural.  It  is  carried  on  usually  in  sheds  structurally  a 
part  of,  or  adjacent  to,  the  factory  proper.  A child  labor 
colony  is  established  around  each  industrial  plant.  Ac- 
cording to  the  latest  ofScial  statistics  (August,  1908)  of 
the  Labor  Department,  hundreds  of  children  under  four- 
teen years  of  age  work  in  these  canneries.  Very  many  of 
them  are  under  ten  years  of  age.” 

What  an  indictment  is  written  against  a great  state  in 
these  words ! Think  of  babes  of  five  driven  to  toil — children 
of  ten  working  in  the  great  canning  industry. 

It  is  enough  to  discredit  our  very  manhood  and  to  make 


218 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


us  question  whether  there  is  any  Christianity  left  when 
such  outrages  are  committed  for  gain  against  childhood 
and  especially  girl  children. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  mentions  a specially  pathetic  case. 

“Last  summer  Alma  Whaley,  a textile-mill  girl  in  Knox- 
ville, Tennessee,  drank  carbolic  acid  to  commit  suicide.  When 
examined,  she  revealed  the  existence  of  a suicide  pact  among 
the  textile-mill  girls,  whose  life  was  such  that  they  felt  that 
death  was  preferable  to  the  slavery  in  which  they  lived  and 
toiled.’’ 

In  a report  of  a study  of  “The  Social  Evil  in  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  (1911),”  a table  is  given  of  the  wages  of  300  girls 
of  that  city,  selected  as  a basis  of  inquiry.  Of  these — 

31  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  $ 2 to  $ 4 

123  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  4 to  6 

75  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  6 to  8 

41  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  8 to  10 

12  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  10  to  15 

18  worked  for  weekly  wage  of  15  to  20 

Thus,  270  of  the  300  worked  for  an  average  wage  of 
from  $5  to  $7,  while  154,  or  more  than  half  of  them,  worked 
for  an  average  wage  of  from  $3  to  $5  per  w’eek. 

Similar  testimony  is  given  by  i\Iiss  Zelie  P.  Emerson,  a 
young  woman  of  independent  means  who,  for  the  sake 
of  experience,  engaged  herself  to  a department  store  for 
three  weeks  of  the  busy  Christmas  season,  at  $6  per  week. 
The  Chicago  Record-Herald  of  December  25,  1911,  gave  the 
following  report  of  Miss  Emerson’s  experience: 

“It  was  hard  work,  but  it  was  worth  while.  The  one  cen- 
tral thought  I got  from  my  experience  is  that  saleswomen  are 
giving  up  too  much  of  their  lives  for  an  existence.  They  get 
about  three  hours  a day  in  which  to  live  the  life  of  a normal 
human  being,  and  it  isn’t  enough.  How  can  they  live  on  ?6 
a week?  They  can’t.  While  I worked  in  the  store  I did  not 


The  Economic  Question 


219 


let  anyone  know  I did  not  have  to  earn  my  living  that  way. 
As  a result,  many  of  the  girls  became  confidential  and  told  me 
of  the  awful  struggle  they  have  to  exist.  The  ten-hour  law 
has  proved  a great  blessing  to  them,  but  we  should  have  an 
eight-hour  law  for  women  and  there  should  be  a minimum 
wage  law. 

“I  found  that  most  of  the  girls  with  whom  I talked  paid 
?4  a week  for  room  and  board.  Car  fare  costs  them  60  cents  a 
week  and  if  they  buy  their  lunches  in  the  store,  that  costs  7 
cents  a day.  Room  and  board,  car  fare  and  7-cent  lunches 
leave  a girl  98  cents  a week  out  of  her  salary  to  pay  for  every- 
thing else  that  she  needs. 

“Where  men’s  goods  are  sold  the  girls  must  look  attractive. 
I spoke  to  some  of  them  about  powdering  their  faces  and  asked 
why  they  did  it. 

“ T might  get  invited  out  to  supper  and  save  20  cents,’  was 
the  invariable  answer.  Ne\er  a thought  of  anything  except 
saving  the  price  of  a supper  or  car  fare  home.” 

These  various  experiences  and  facts  represent  the  life 
of  half  our  American  girls — a life  unknown  to  the  woman- 
hood of  a generation  ago.  The  grandmothers  of  our  girls 
did  not  dream  of  entering  the  struggle  of  wage-service  un- 
less compelled  by  economic  necessity.  Now,  almost  every 
avenue  of  employment  that  offers  a possible  field  for  them 
is  as  keenly  contested  by  girls,  as  by  their  brothers,  and 
thousands  enter  the  wage-earning  class  in  the  spirit  of  ad- 
venture, or  of  desire  for  a purse,  independent  of  a common 
provision  of  the  household.  On  this  point  Miss  Addams 
says : 

“For  the  first  time  in  history,  multitudes  of  women  are 
laboring  without  the  direct  stimulus  of  family  history  or  af- 
fection, and  they  are  also  unable  to  proportion  their  hours  of 
work  and  intervals  of  rest  according  to  their  strength;  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  for  thousands  of  them,  the  effort  to  obtain  a liveli- 
hood has  fairly  eclipsed  the  meaning  of  life  itself.” 

The  conditions  of  modern  commercial  life,  on  the  one 


220 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


hand,  and  the  presence  of  need,  on  the  other,  seem  to  in- 
vite, and  often  to  force,  young  girls  into  a public  arena 
in  which  they  must  contend,  not  only  with  one  another,  but 
also  with  men  and  boys.  Hence  they  are  subject  to  ex- 
posure and  risks  for  which  few  of  them  have  had  any  prep- 
aration whatever.  The  result  is  numerous  tragedies  of 
body  and  soul. 


BETTER  WAGES  FOR  WOMEN. 

In  April,  1911,  we  wrote  to  Miss  Grace  Dodge,  President 
of  the  National  Young  Women’s  Christian  Association,  urg- 
ing the  support  of  that  body  at  its  annual  Convention  in 
Indianapolis,  to  support  legislative  and  other  measures  to 
protect  young  women  against  the  dangers  involved  in  the 
traffic  in  vice. 

The  subject  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions and  the  following  were  adopted : 

Inasmuch  as  the  utterly  inadequate  wages  paid  to  thou- 
sands of  young  women  throughout  the  country  often  hamper 
and  stultify  the  work  of  the  Association  as  a great  preventive 
agency,  and  as  the  white  slave  traffic  is  admitted  to  be  closely 
related  to  the  lack  of  living  wage,  the  Association  recognizes 
its  responsibility  as  an  influential  unit  in  the  body  of  Christian 
public  opinion,  and  accordingly  it  is  recommended: 

a.  That  the  Association  shall  seek  to  educate  public  opin- 
ion regarding  the  need  of  establishing  a minimum 
living  wage  and  of  regulating  hours  born  of  labor  com- 
patible with  the  physical  health  and  development  of  wage 
earners. 

This  cry  for  honest  pay  to  youthful  womanhood  in  the 
market  of  labor  will  be  heard  in  every  court  of  appeal  in 
this  country  and  throughout  the  world.  To  tax  the  strength, 
and  starve  the  bodies  and  minds,  of  tens  of  thousands  of  our 
girls  is  a crime — not  against  them  alone — but  against  the 


The  Economic  Question 


221 


motherhood  and  home  life  of  the  whole  world.  It  is  a 
draft  upon  the  future  that  no  nation  can  perpetuate  or 
tolerate,  and  yet  prosper. 

But  the  economic  wrong  is  not  alone  the  fault  of  cer- 
tain sets  of  employers.  It  is  a fault  much  deeper  and  more 
general  than  can  be  lodged, — say  against  a given  number 
of  manufacturers — or  department  store  proprietors.  There 
are  to  be  sure,  employers  who  grind  the  pay  of  employees 
down  to  the  lowest  possible  level  and  who  never  concern 
themselves  as  to  the  circumstances  of  the  girls  whom  they 
employ — often  driven  to  the  very  verge  of  desperation  and 
starvation — men  like  that  manufacturer  of  clothing,  of 
whom  Miss  Addams  tells,  employing  a Russian  girl  at  20 
cents  a day,  while  the  girl  had  to  pay  a dollar  a week  for  a 
corner  in  a lodging  and  accept  the  generous  help  of  another 
girl,  nearly  as  poor  as  herself,  for  food  enough  to  keep  her 
alive.  The  indilference  and  moral  turpitude  of  such  a man 
is  not  contemptible  only,  it  is  criminal.  To  allow  a cat,  or 
a dog,  to  be  in  one’s  keeping  and  starve  it,  is  a subject 
for  the  officers  of  the  humane  society.  To  employ  a lone 
girl  whose  earnings  are  insufficient  for  the  barest  necessities 
of  life,  and  drive  her  to  beggary  or  death,  is  a crime  that 
some  day,  ere  long,  will  be  placed  in  the  category  of 
murder. 

“Are  flesh  and  blood  so  cheap,  mental  qualifications  so 
common,  and  honesty  of  so  little  value,  that  the  manager  of 
one  of  our  big  department  stores  feels  justified  in  paying  a 
high  school  girl,  who  has  served  nearly  one  year  as  an  in- 
spector of  sales,  the  beggarly  wage  of  $4.00  per  week? 
What  is  the  natural  result  of  such  an  industrial  condition  ? 
Dishonesty  and  immorality,  not  from  choice,  but  necessity 
— in  order  to  live.  We  can  forgive  the  human  frailty  which 
yields  to  temptation  under  such  conditions — but  we  cannot 


222 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


forgive  the  soulless  corporation  which  arrests  and  prose- 
cutes this  girl — a first  offender — when  she  takes  some  little 
articles  for  personal  adornment.” — Chicago  Vice  Commis- 
sion Report. 

It  is  this  criminal  enslavement  of  girl  workers  which 
calls  loudly  for  action  on  the  part  of  organized  society  and 
of  government. 

The  problem  of  working  girls  springs  chiefly  from  the 
fact  that  they  do  not  know  how  to  work.  They  can  usually 
offer  only  unskilled  labor,  which  commands  short  pay  for 
long  hours.  They  were  compelled  to  attend  public  school 
where  they  learned  to  want  many  things  which  they  can- 
not honestly  have,  but  found  no  opportunity  to  learn  a 
trade,  which  would  have  been  a strong  bulwark  against 
temptation.  Even  the  skilled  workers,  are,  many  of  them, 
thrown  out  of  employment  part  of  the  year.  In  a list  of 
eighty-seven  industries,  in  New  York  City,  there  are  ten 
whose  season  is  ten  months,  twenty  whose  season  is  eight 
months,  twenty-one  whose  season  is  six  months,  and  others 
which  are  still  shorter. 

Whether  self-respecting  girls,  faint  from  hunger,  hunt 
in  vain  for  work,  or  are  daily  exhausted  by  excessive  toil, 
they  can  hardly  fail  to  contrast  their  lives  with  the  lives 
of  women  who  have  luxuries  of  food  and  clothing,  though 
“they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin.”  It  is  infinitely  to 
their  honor  that  tlie  great  majority  of  working  girls  pre- 
serve their  womanhood  under  such  conditions. 

If  we  seek  the  true  source  of  these  conditions,  we  must 
look  back  of  the  present-day  lack  of  system.  How  comes 
it  about  that  so  large  a percentage  of  young,  untrained 
girls,  without  knowledge,  even  of  the  most  primary  condi- 
tions of  business  or  service — with  absolutely  no  fitness,  ex- 
cept that  they  have  youthful  hands  and  legs  to  grow  weary 


The  Economic  Question  223 

in  incessant  use  in  factory  or  store,  are  in  this  struggle  for 
bread  ? 

After  all,  economic  law  will  not  solve  the  problem  with- 
out disaster  to  working  girls  which,  for  a time  at  least, 
might  prove  worse  than  those  of  present  conditions.  Right 
relations  between  service  and  wages  can  only  obtain  through 
a revolution  of  the  present  hit-and-miss,  haphazard,  chaotic 
conditions.  As  Miss  Addams  says : 

“Perhaps  nothing  in  our  social  order  is  so  unorganized  and 
inchoate  as  our  method,  or  rather  lack  of  method,  of  placing 
young  people  in  industry,  whether  we  consider  this  from  the 
point  of  view  of  their  first  positions  when  they  leave  school 
at  the  wayward  age  of  fourteen,  or  from  the  innumerable  places 
they  hold  later,  often  as  many  as  ten  a year,  when  they  are 
dismissed  or  change  voluntarily  through  sheer  restlessness.”^ 

The  rate  of  wages  is  determined  by  a law  which  asserts 
itself.  If  competent,  efficient  service,  such  as  trained  sales- 
women, dressmakers,  milliners  or  stenographers  command  a 
certain  rate  of  wages,  employers  will  not  pay  the  same  to 
untrained  hands. 

Let  us  suppose  that  any  one  or  more  of  the  great  de- 
partment stores  were  suddenly  to  announce  ‘ ‘ living  wages  ’ ’ 
for  all  their  employees — say  a minimum  of  $10  or  $12  per 
week;  the  immediate  result  would  be  the  elimination  of 
more  than  half — perhaps  in  some  cases,  of  two-thirds — of 
the  girls  in  their  employ.  The  most  natural  condition  of 
economic  law  would  demand  more  efficient  trained  service, 
and  a prompt  response  to  that  demand  would  he  forth- 
coming. 

The  Chicago  School  of  Civics  and  Philanthropy,  asso- 
ciated with  the  Chicago  Woman’s  Club,  reports,  Dec.  27, 
1911,  on  the  subject  of  child  labor,  and  remarks  that : 


’An  Ancient  Evil. 


224 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“The  14  or  15  year  old  child  is  very  helpless  and  ill-equipped 
to  enter  alone  and  unguarded  upon  her  wage  earning  life.  The 
parent  is  unable  to  advise  or  guide;  the  private  employment 
office  is  a wholly  unsuitable  agency;  and  to  the  present,  the 
public  school  has  been  inactive.” 

The  trades  inquired  into  are  listed  under  distinct  head- 
ings, the  sewing  trades  being  grouped  together.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a summary  of  what  the  investigators  found  to  be 
the  conditions  in  some  of  these  trades  in  Chicago : 

Dressmaking — Pay,  $1.50  a week  for  first  few  months; 
at  end  of  two  years,  $6  to  $8. 

iMillinery — Assistants  get  $5  to  $10  a week ; average 
wage  is  $12 ; makers,  $10  to  $20 ; trimmers,  $15  to  $35 ; de- 
signers, average,  $35. 

Braiding  and  embroidering — Beginners,  $3.50  to  $5; 
usual  wage,  $12  a week. 

Artificial  flower-making — Beginners  get  $2  to  $3  a week ; 
average  is  $8. 

Bookbinding — Beginners,  $3.50  to  $4  a week;  appren- 
tices over  16  get  $5  the  first  year;  after  two  years,  $8. 

Engraving — Girls  under  16  rarely  earn  over  $4.50  as 
feeders.  Usual  wage  is  $11. 

Photography — Offers  good  opportunities  for  girls,  but 
few  girls  under  16  are  employed. 

Stenography  (typewriting  and  office  work) — Girls  un- 
der 16  get  $4  a week ; others,  $5,  $6,  up  to  $15,  and  in 
some  cases,  $18. 

Telephone  operating — Average  wage  to  girls  $8  a week ; 
experts  are  said  to  be  paid  as  high  as  $95  a month. 

These  facts  are  sufficient  to  establish  the  general  rule 
that  a responsibility  is  thrown  upon  young  girls  wholly 
out  of  proportion  to  their  fitness  by  training  or  experience. 

The  mistake  is  that  girls  are  permitted  to  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  their  own  living  at  an  age,  and  under  cir- 


The  Economic  Question 


225 


cumstances,  when  they  ought  to  be  at  home,  or  at  school,  or, 
failing  parental  or  natural  guardians,  should  be  cared  for 
by  the  State. 

It  is  a complete  reversion  of  the  order  of  providential 
care  that  tens  of  thousands  of  children — girls — are  thrust 
into  the  struggle  of  factory  and  store,  when  they  ought  to 
be  cared  for  at  home.  And  of  those  who  have  arrived  at  an 
age  when  they  might  fairly  be  learners,  no  factory  or  de- 
partment store  should  be  permitted  to  receive  them,  as  ap- 
prentices, without  a knowledge  and  a register  of  their  homes 
and  guardians.  This  means  State  care  and  provision.  The 
wisdom  of  caring  for  the  early  youth  upon  whom  the 
State  has  already  expended  large  sums  for  education,  until 
they  are  ready,  by  growth,  experience,  and  training,  to 
fitly  enter  the  battle  of  life,  must  be  apparent  to  all  think- 
ing people. 

MORAL  RESTRAINTS  ENDANGERED  BY  OVER-STATEMENTS. 

Great  perils  lie  in  the  direction  of  over-statement,  or 
misstatement,  of  the  relation  of  low  wages  or  poverty  to 
social  vice.  Two  aspects  of  this  subject  are  presented, 
both  of  which  are  attended  with  serious  danger  to  the 
young. 

1.  The  first  is  the  suggestion  that  the  wages  of  sin 
are  greater  than  that  of  labor.  One  of  the  most  commonly 
quoted  paragraphs  of  the  Chicago  Vice  Commission  Re- 
port is  this : 

“Is  it  any  wonder  that  a tempted  girl  who  receives  only 
six  dollars  per  week  working  with  her  hands,  sells  her  body  for 
twenty-five  dollars  per  week  when  she  learns  there  is  a demand 
for  it  and  men  are  willing  to  pay  the  price?  On  the  one  hand 
her  employer  demands  honesty,  faithfulness  and  a clean  and 
neat  appearance,  and  for  all  this  he  contributes  from  his  prof- 


226 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


its  an  average  of  six  dollars  for  every  week.  Her  honesty  alone 
is  worth  this  inadequate  wage,  disregarding  the  consideration 
of  her  efficiency.  In  the  sad  life  of  prostitution,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  find  here  the  employer  demanding  the  surrender  of 
her  virtue,  pays  her  an  average  of  twenty-five  dollars  per 
week.  Which  employer  wins  the  half  starved  child  to  his  side 
in  this  unequal  battle?” 

When  such  a statement  with  the  weight  and  authority 
of  an  official  document  reaches  an  inexperienced  girl,  she 
naturally  compares  her  poor  $5.00  a week — more  or  less — 
with  those  glittering  prospects  of  five  times  the  amount. 
Many  girls  are  incapable  of  reasoning  that,  even  if  ob- 
tainable, instead  of  increasing  her  independence  and  happi- 
ness, it  would  mean  the  absolute  surrender  of  both,  with 
untold  suffering,  poverty  and  disease  speedily  following. 

The  Commission’s  own  report  shows  that  there  are  no 
continuous  prizes  of  large  pay  to  girls  who  enter  the  life  of 
shame.  The  charges  which  are  placed  against  the  poor 
girl’s  wages  for  infamy  involve  them  in  immediate  and 
perpetual  debt  and  poverty,  and  the  wages  of  this  sin  is  a 
rapidly  diminishing  quantity,  while  indebtedness  increases. 
The  vice  trade  is  the  only  market  in  which  the  largest  pay 
is  to  the  beginner,  and  the  steps  down  to  beggary,  disease, 
and  death  are  short  and  steep.  In  many  houses  the  girl  is 
never  paid  at  all.  The  visitor  purchases  a check  at  the  door, 
which  is  handed  her  for  the  ser\dce,  and  from  the  aggre- 
gate sum  donated  by  her  checks  are  deducted  by  the  madam 
the  charges  against  her  for  board  or  lodging  and  articles  of 
dress  (all  of  which  are  purchased  by  the  madam  and  sold 
to  the  inmate  at  a large  profit),  and  thus  she  is  often  kept 
in  debt. 

The  Report  has  so  much  in  it  that  is  excellent  and  wise 
that  one  regrets  to  observe  it  limping  on  this  very  funda- 
mental matter.  Referring  to  the  youth  of  girls  as  a chief 


The  Economic  Question 


227 


asset  in  the  market  of  prostitution,  the  report  says : ‘ ‘ What- 
ever her  chances  may  be,  to  stand  or  to  fall,  she  is  here 
in  hordes,  in  the  business  'world  as  our  problem.  Let  us  do 
something  to  give  her  at  least  a living  wage.” 

Why  not  “do  something”  to  take  these  hordes  of  girls 
out  of  the  business  world?  It  is  their  very  inexperience 
and  unpreparedness  that  make  them  often  the  easy  prey 
of  human  wolves.  And  at  such  times  it  is  not  the  small 
wages  which  is  the  main  danger,  but  that  their  youth  is  a 
marketable  article,  for  which  fiends  contend,  and  panders 
offer  a gilded  premium. 

Miss  Addams,  referring  to  the  statement  of  a twenty- 
five  dollar  income  for  a girl  “who  enters  an  illicit  life,  re- 
marks: “Of  course  the  argument  is  specious  in  that  it 
does  not  reckon  the  economic  value  of  the  many  years  in 
which  the  honest  girl  will  live  as  wife  and  mother,  in  con- 
trast to  the  premature  death  of  the  girl  in  the  illicit  trade.  ’ ’ 

It  may  be  added  that  the  girls  who  are  said  to  earn 
these  sums  do  not  get  them.  They  receive  only  the  portion 
that  the  madame  chooses  to  give,  and  against  it  all  there 
are  the  extortionate  charges  which  make  them  slaves  of 
perpetual  debt.  To  represent  the  wages  of  vice  as  higher, 
or  in  any  way  better,  than  the  wages  of  honor  and  service, 
is  to  mislead  the  mind  of  youth  and  is  as  false  to  economic 
law  as  it  is  to  morals. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  seductions  of  pleasure, 
dress,  and  opportunity,  are  often  aided  by  poverty,  yet  the 
more  prevalent  causes  of  the  fall  of  girls  are  traceable  to 
other  evils.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  poorer  girls  that  often 
they  resist  evil,  even  unto  death. 

Does  a woman  ever  enter  this  life  by  choice ; does  she, 
in  ordinary,  normal-girl  conditions,  deliberately  choose 
to  sell  herself  into  a market  of  vice  ? There  are  doubtless 


228 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


some  who  are  born  into  an  environment  from  which  they 
have  not  the  moral  sense  or  desire  to  emerge,  and  who  may 
be  said  to  be  horn  slaves,  but  the  ordinary  girl  who  en- 
ters this  business  is  either  seduced,  deceived,  coerced  or 
tricked,  or  absolutely  sold  and  sometimes  forcibly  held. 
Every  man  who  will  think  back  to  primary  causes  and  re- 
call what  he  has  known  of  the  virtue  of  the  girls  of  his 
acquaintance,  will  be  ready  to  affirm  that  nature  has  en- 
dowed them  with  an  instinctive  horror  of  indiscriminate 
commerce  of  their  persons,  and  when  the  further  question 
is  asked  as  to  those  who  are  absolutely  sold  and  held  by 
device  or  force,  the  testimony  of  men  of  unquestionable 
authority  and  position  is  the  abundant  and  unimpeachable 
answer. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  market  of  vice  is  not  deter- 
mined by  a natural  law  of  supply  and  demand.  Both  are 
made  fictitious  by  the  methods  of  the  vice  dealer;  the  sup- 
ply of  fresh  attractive  girls  stimulates  the  demand  among 
men  and  an  artificial  supply  is  created.  A whole  army  of 
pimps,  panders  and  slave-mongers  are  necessary  to  force  the 
supply,  and  these  all  find  profit  in  catching  \’ictims  and 
consigning  them  to  the  shambles  for  moral  slaughter. 

Katherine  Bement  Davis,  Superintendent  of  the  State 
Reformatory  at  Bedford  Hills,  N.  Y.,  furnishes  the  follow- 
ing facts : 

Of  647  girls  in  the  Bedford  Institution  243,  or  37.58 
per  cent  of  the  whole  number  were  domestic  servants  be- 
fore they  fell  into  the  life  of  prostitution. 

Of  52  of  these  243,  the  average  wages  received  (with 
board)  was  $4.50. 

Of  52  others  of  this  number  the  average  wages  (with 
board)  was  $3.00. 

In  other  occupations;  of  110  cases  the  average  wages 


The  Economic  Question 


229 


(without  board)  was  $8.00.  Of  100  others,  the  average 
wages  was  $4.00. 

It  will  be  at  once  apparent  that  the  earnings  of  domes- 
tic servants,  when  room  and  board,  are  considered,  are  much 
higher  than  of  “other  occupations.”  Yet,  of  647  cases, 
243  or  37.56  per  cent,  of  them  were  domestic  servants, 
while  of  factory  operatives  only  127  or  19.62  per  cent,  were 
included  and  those  who  were  recorded  as  having  “no 
work”  were  92,  or  14.27  per  eent.^ 

This  is  in  accord  with  other  facts  and  statistics  well 
known  to  students  of  social  reform,  and  it  shows  that 
poverty  is  not  the  chief  cause  of  vice,  although  as  we  have 
seen  it  is  one  of  many  causes.  Nor  may  it  be  assumed  that 
there  is  any  more  inate  tendency  to  vice  in  girls  who  enter 
domestic  service  than  other  girls.  The  explanation  of  the 
prevalence  of  their  fall,  seems  to  be  that  the  domestic  serv- 
ant is  usually  isolated  from  all  home  influences,  and  is  a 
convenient  subject  for  the  attacks  of  men  who  know  of  their 
situation  and  circumstances. 

'Mr.  Flexner,  in  his  book,  “Prostitution  in  Europe,”  published 
since  this  chapter  was  written,  remarks: 

“The  servant  does  not  lack  food  or  shelter,  and  her  services 
are  everywhere  in  demand.  She  does  not  therefore  resort  to 
prostitution  as  an  alternative  to  starvation.  Animated  by  a 
natural  desire  to  excuse  their  conduct,  as  most  human  beings 
are,  the  direct  pressure  of  need  is  rarely  assigned  by  prostitutes 
in  exculpation  of  their  conduct.  Mrs.  Bramwell  Booth,  than 
whom  there  is  no  more  competent  or  sympathetic  authority, 
found  among  150  successive  and  unusually  varied  cases  only 
2 percent  who  explained  their  prostitution  by  inability  to  earn 
a livelihood;  Strohmherg  discovered  among  462  enrolled  women 
at  Dorpat  only  one  who  protested  poverty  as  her  justification; 
Pinkus,  studying  the  incomes  of  1,550  Berlin  women  before  em- 
barking on  the  life,  decides  that  1,389  had  earned  enough  for 
self-support.  But  it  would  be  obviously  unfair  to  say  of  these 
1,389  women  capable  of  earning  a living  that  social-economic 
conditions  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  fall;  for  precisely  these 
conditions  create  a situation  capable  of  being  exploited.” 


“Sex  is  a paradox;  it  is  that  which  separates  in  order 
to  unite.  . . . This  much,  at  least,  sex  has  done  for 

the  world — it  has  abolis  led  the  numeral  one.  Observe, 
it  has  not  simply  discouraged  the  existence  of  one ; it  has 
abolished  the  existence  of  one.  The  solitary  animal  must 
die,  and  can  leave  no  successor.  . . . The  two  sexes 

were  not  only  set  apart  to  perform  different  halves  of 
the  same  function,  but  each  so  entirely  lost  the  power 
of  performing  the  whole  function  that  even  with  so  great 
a thing  at  stake  as  the  continuance  of  the  species  one 
could  not  discharge  it.  Association,  construction,  mutual 
help,  fellowship,  affection — things  on  which  all  material 
and  moral  progress  would  ultimately  turn — were  thus 
forced  upon  the  world  at  the  bayonet’s  point. 

“It  is  not  enough  to  give  time  for  mutual  knowledge 
and  affection  after  marriage.  Nature  must  deepen  the 
result  by  extending  it  to  the  time  before  marriage.  In 
primitive  times  there  was  no  such  thing  as  courtship. 
. . . To  give  love  time  has  been  all  along,  and  through 
a great  variety  of  arrangements,  the  chief  means  of 
establishing  it  on  the  earth.  Unfortunately,  the  lesson  of 
nature  here  is  being  all  too  slowly  learned,  even  among 
nations  with  its  open  book  before  them.  In  some  of  the 
greatest  of  civilized  countries,  real  mutual  knowledge 
between  the  youth  of  the  sexes,  is  unattainable ; marriages 
are  made  only  by  a higher  kind  of  purchase,  and  the 
supreme  step  in  life  is  taken  in  the  dark.” 

Henry  Drummond:  “The  Ascent  of  Man”  pp.  243, 
244,  304. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  AMERICAN  AWAKENING. 

I. 

The  awakening  interest  which  has  culminated  in  the 
present  day  movement  for  the  abolition  of  commercialized 
vice  and  a better  knowledge  of  the  natural  laws  relating  to 
sex,  takes  us  back  to  the  first  International  Congress  held  in 
Geneva,  Switzerland,  September,  1877.  A little  volume 
entitled  “State  Regulation  of  Vice,”  by  Aaron  M.  Powell, 
published  in  New  York  in  1878,  contains  an  accurate  note 
of  that  Congress,  as  the  writer  of  this  book,  who  was  pres- 
ent, remembers  it.  The  following  from  Mr.  Powell’s  ac- 
count is  of  permanent  interest  as  a record  of  the  founda- 
tion principles  upon  which  the  new  abolition  movement  is 
based : 

“In  1875,  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler  undertook  an  important 
mission  on  the  Continent,  chiefly  in  France,  Switzerland  and 
Italy.  Her  reception  in  Paris  was  cold,  and  anything  but  en- 
couraging, but  her  observation  in  the  French  Capitol  ot  the  prac- 
tical workings  of  the  regulation  system  there,  served  to  render 
still  more  obvious  the  urgent  need  of  reformation.  In  Switzer- 
land she* found  more  encouragement;  and  in  Italy,  in  many 
cases,  she  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  Out  of  this  mission 
as  a preliminary  preparation,  grew  the  International  Congress 
at  Geneva,  September,  1877,  under  the  auspices  of  the  British 
Continental  and  General  Federation  for  the  Abolition  of  Gov- 
ernment Regulation  of  Prostitution. 

“The  attendance  at  the  Congress  numbered  flve  hundred  and 
ten.  Among  the  delegates  were  Dr.  Bertani,  an  eminent  physi- 
cian and  member  of  the  Italian  Parliament,  Signor  Nathan,  of 
Rome,  an  able  journalist,  and  co-worker  with  Garibaldi,  Mile. 


232 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Mozzoni,  of  Milan,  and  Professor  Colona,  of  Salerno.  From  Italy 
also  came  a deputation  representing  1,600  societies  of  working- 
men. Spain  was  represented  by  Signor  Zorrilla,  formerly  a 
leader  of  the  Madrid  Government.  From  Germany  came  Dr. 
Baur,  a distinguished  Court  Preacher  hearing  a message  of 
sympathy  to  the  Congress  from  the  Empress,  also  Pastor  In- 
storp  of  Pomerania.  Among  the  delegates  from  France  were 
the  eloquent  preacher,  M.  Pressense,  Dr.  Gustav  Monod,  M. 
Desmoulins,  a Paris  Journalist,  M.  Leon  Richer,  Dr.  John  Chap- 
man, editor  of  the  Westminster  Review,  Mile.  Racult,  a work- 
ing woman,  and  founder  of  a ‘Women’s  Trade  Union’  in  Paris, 
and  M.  Charles  Lemonnier,  a leading  member  of  the  Peace  and 
Liberty  League.  Denmark  was  represented  by  Dr.  Meyer.  Ma- 
dame Behrends,  M.  Nicholet,  and  M.  Hutton  were  delegates 
from  Belgium.  Holland  was  ably  represented  by  M.  W.  Vanden- 
bergh,  of  the  Hague,  and  Pastor  Pierson.  The  largest  delega- 
tions were  from  Switzerland  and  Great  Britain.  Among  the 
former  were  Prof.  Amie  Humbert,  of  Neuchatel,  Dr.  De  La 
Harpe,  of  Lausanne,  Pere  Hyacinthe,  Prof.  Hornung,  of  Geneva, 
the  venerable  Pastor  Borel,  and  M.  Sautter  de  Blonay.  From 
Great  Britain  there  were,  beside  Mrs.  Butler,  her  husband,  the 
Rev.  George  Butler,  and  their  two  sons,  the  Right  Hon.  James 
Stansfeld,  M.  P.,  Sir  Harcourt  Johnstone,  the  leader  of  the 
Repeal  Movement  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Prof.  James 
Stuart,  of  Cambridge,  William  Shaen,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
F.  C.  Banks,  London.  Mr.  Ashurst,  Henry  J.  Wilson,  M.  P., 
George  Gillett  of  London,  Mrs.  Margaret  Lucas,  sister  of  John 
and  Jacob  Bright,  Edward  Backhouse,  Esq.,  Edmund  Jones, 
President  of  the  Workingmen’s  Repeal  Association,  Dr.  Nevins, 
President,  and  Wm.  Burgess,  of  Liverpool,  Secretary  of  the 
National  Medical  Association,  Henry  Richard,  M.  P.,  Dr.  Carson 
of  Liverpool,  P.  W.  Bunting,  Mrs.  Sheldon  Amos,  Miss  Estlin, 
and  Mrs.  Russell  Carpenter,  Mrs.  Richardson,  R.  F.  Marteneau, 
Rev.  W.  Wastell,  and  Mrs.  Kenway,  of  Birmingham,  Eliza 
Wigham,  of  Edinburgh,  Miss  Todd,  of  Belfast,  Henry  Allen, 
Esq.,  of  Dublin,  and  others.” 

The  United  States  was  represented  by  Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe  of  Boston,  Dr.  Caroline  B.  Winslow,  and  A.  C.  Winslow 
Esq.,  of  Washington,  and  Mr.  A.  M.  Powell,  of  New  York. 

“Mr.  Stansfeld,  as  President,  arraigned  the  regulation  sys- 


The  American  Awakening  233 

tem  as  a failure  hygienically,  as  well  as  wrong  morally;  as  op- 
pressive to  women,  delusive  to  men,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
principles  of  enlightened  jurisprudence.  Referring  to  the  regu- 
lation system,  he  said:  “These  laws  are  and  deserve  to  be  a 
hygienic  failure,  because  those  who  invented  them  and  those 
who  have  administered  them  were  unable  to  see  that  no  law 
which  offends  against  human  nature  can  be  a hygienic  success. 
But  they  are  far  worse  than  a hygienic  failure,  they  are  an 
outrage  against  morality,  justice,  law  itself;  and  have  been  and 
will  be,  wheresoever  they  are  retained,  a cause  among  the  na- 
tions of  the  ruin  of  liberty  and  law,  of  a general  depravation  of 
morals,  and  of  an  equal  physical  degradation  and  emascu- 
lation of  our  race.  They  bring  us  back  to  the  vices,  the 
decadence  of  the  Lower  Empire.  There  is  no  nation  in  the 
world’s  history  which  has  given  itself  up  to  sexual  vice  without 
becoming  enslaved,  or  disappearing  off  the  face  of  the  earth, 
as  if  at  the  breath  of  God.’’ 

Appealing  to  women,  Mr.  Stansfeld  said: 

“The  evil  we  attack  is  the  very  existence  of  prostitution. 
The  existence  of  the  legalized,  sanctioned,  regulated  prostitution 
of  women,  in  order  to  satisfy  men’s  ignoble  desires,  would  he,  not 
only  an  indignity,  it  would  be  a shame  to  women  if  they  were 
not  to  resist  it,  to  protest  against  it.  I rejoice  that  there  are 
those  amongst  us  who  do  this,  and  I revere  them  for  it.  But 
woman,  as  a sex,  as  a class,  has  not  yet  risen  to  the  level 
which  her  very  sex  demands  from  her.  Many  women  shrink 
from  this  subject  because  of  its  horrors;  let  them,  too,  learn 
to  bear  this  cross.  Let  them  resist,  as  an  outrage  against  their 
whole  sex,  the  outrage  inflicted  upon  these  unhappy  ones, 
the  most  degraded  of  their  sisters.  Let  them  study  history  and 
its  lessons  of  providential  progress.” 

MSS.  JOSEPHINE  BUTLER  APPEALS  TO  MEN  AND  WOMEN. 

Mrs.  Butler  followed  Mr.  Stansfeld  in  an  address  of  great 
power  and  eloquence.  She  said:  “The  President  has  uttered 
words  of  earnest  appeal  and  words  of  blame  to  us  women.  Yes, 
I confess  it;  I confess  it  for  all  women,  we  have  been  guilty  in 
this  matter,  and  not  merely  in  the  past,  we  are  so  still;  we 
are  not  ready  for  all  sacrifices.  But  a new  light  has  arisen,  a 
new  era  dawns  upon  this  question;  a voice  has  been  raised. 


234 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


feeble  at  first,  but  daily  gaining  strength,  until  at  last  a great 
cry  has  gone  up  which  has  echoed  across  Great  Britian,  Europe 
and  America  and  resounded  to  the  extremities  of  the  world.  A 
new  influence  has  made  itself  felt,  an  influence  which  from  the 
moment  of  its  uprising,  owing  to  the  natural  and  providential 
law  which  rouses  the  oppressed  to  struggle  for  deliverance,  was 
predestined  to  reach  the  root  of  the  evil.  What  is  the  new 
social  force  which  has  hitherto  been  absent,  and  which  is  in- 
dispensable to  all  efficacious  action  upon  this  question?  It  is 
the  action  of  women.  The  voice  of  God — as  far  as  we  may 
recognize  it  from  the  world’s  history — has  called  to  this  work 
not  merely  a few  devoted  women,  but  a large  army  of  women, 
who  have  identified  themselves  with  the  crowd  of  unhappy  and 
degraded  women  who  are  their  sisters.  This  forlorn  class  has 
recently  found  a voice — our  voice,  the  voice  of  happier  women, 
who  abhor  the  degradation  into  which  their  sisters  are  sunk, 
and  who  love  them,  although  they  be  guilty  and  fallen.  We 
have  been  awakened  out  of  our  deep  sleep  by  a terrible  shock: 
but  we  will  never  sleep  again. 

“You,  gentlemen,  will  no  longer  find  before  you  a silent  and 
submissive  class,  having  no  will  of  its  own,  a class  of  women 
who  have  been  named  by  Dr.  Hippolyte  Mireur  ‘the  things  of 
the  administration;’  you  have  now  before  you  a class  which, 
for  the  first  time,  has  found  a tongue;  a revolted  class,  which 
comprises  all  the  women  upon  the  earth.  It  is  not  mereiy  the 
unhappy  class,  now  down-trodden,  who  are  wronged;  if  they 
are  wronged,  we  are  still  more  so  in  their  wrongs. 

“ ‘Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  this  unto  one  of  these  little  ones, 
ye  have  done  it  unto  Me.’ 

“You  hygienists,  you  legislators,  you  are  the  men;  you  it  is 
who  make  the  laws,  who  order  public  measures  and  prescribe  the 
means  of  preserving  the  public  health.  You  are  learned  and 
sincere  men;  but  forget  not  in  making  your  plans  for  the  fu- 
ture that  you  have  to  take  into  your  account  the  holy  revolt 
of  rebels  who  have  rebelled  in  the  name  of  justice  and  of  the 
law  of  God. 

“Now  ladies:  if  it  is  henceforth  forbidden  for  men  to  under- 
take the  solution  of  this  question  without  the  heip  of  women: 
so  also  have  women  a moral  obligation  before  man  and  before 
God  to  play  an  active  and  aggressive  part  in  the  execution  of 


The  American  Awakening 


235 


this  task.  You  can  no  longer  neglect  your  high  responsibility 
upon  this  question  without  being  guilty  of  unfaithfulness  to- 
wards men,  who  are  your  brothers,  your  husbands,  your  friends, 
your  sons.  Our  part  is  not  merely  that  of  healing  the  wounds 
which  men  have  made,  of  gathering  around  us  and  of  saving 
the  broken  fragments  of  this  forlorn  portion  of  humanity,  which 
have  been  destroyed  through  our  selfishness  and  cowardice.  Our 
duty  it  is  to  prevent  such  destruction;  to  unite  actively  and  ag- 
gressively with  men  in  every  work  of  destruction  and  of  recon- 
struction which  has  for  its  aim  an  attack  upon  the  sources  of 
the  evil;  our  duty  it  is  to  rectify  the  judgment  of  society  at 
large  upon  this  question;  to  enter  into  the  discussion  and  the  ac- 
complishment of  every  measure,  public  or  private,  legislative, 
hygienic,  or  economic,  by  which  its  solution  is  sought;  for 
this  question,  never  has  been,  and  never  will  he  solved  hy 
men  acting  alone;  so  long  as  they  act  alone  they  must  inevitably 
fail.  The  noblest  amongst  men  are  the  first  to  admit  this.” 

Among  the  English-speaking  delegates,  at  the  Congress, 
Mrs.  Howe,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  invited  attention  to  the  de- 
sirability of  eo-edueation  for  girls  and  boys,  and  of  enfran- 
chisement and  equal  opportunities  for  women,  and  was 
listened  to  with  marked  attention.  Dr.  Winslow,  of  Wash- 
ington, read  a paper  before  the  hygienic  section  on  the 
moral  attitude  of  the  medical  women  of  America. 

Mr.  A.  M.  Powell  presented  a paper  upon  “Regulation 
Elforts  in  America.”  Contributions  were  also  sent  from 
America  hy  Mrs.  Caroline  H.  Dali,  of  Boston,  Dr.  Lozier, 
of  New  York,  and  the  Woman  Suffrage  Association  of  New 
York.  The  Congress  passed  a series  of  resolutions  which 
constitute  the  foundation  principles  of  this  movement  for 
all  time.  They  were  as  follows : 

SECTION  OF  HYGIENE. 

The  section  of  hygiene  affirms; 

I.  That  self  control  in  sexual  matters  is  one  of  the  indis- 
pensable bases  of  the  health  of  individuals  and  of  nations. 


236  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

II.  That  prostitution  is  a fundamental  violation  of  the  laws 
of  health. 

III.  Considering  that  the  duties  of  the  Department  of  Public 
Health  ought  not  to  be  restricted  to  the  prophylaxy  of  the 
diseases  which  afflict  the  population,  we  declare  its  true 
function  to  be  that  of  developing  in  the  people  all  the 
conditions  favorable  to  health,  of  which  public  morality 
is  the  highest  expression. 

IV.  The  Section  of  Hygiene  repudiates  all  systems  of  police 
regulation  of  prostitution,  on  account  of  their  entire  want 
of  success.  It  bases  this  view  upon  the  following  reasons, 
among  others:  That  the  compulsory  surgical  examination 
of  women  is  revolting  to  human  nature;  that  it  can  only 
reach  a certain  number  of  prostitutes;  that  it  is  not  to  be 
relied  upon  to  discover  the  gravest  constitutional  form 
of  disease,  or  to  arrest  its  progress;  and  that  conse- 
quently it  gives  a false  security  in  regard  to  the  health  of 
the  women  examined. 

V.  The  Section  of  Hygiene  urgently  desires  the  removal  of 
the  obstacles  which  prevent  the  treatment  of  venereal 
diseases  as  readily  as  all  other  diseases,  in  all  hospitals 
under  the  control  of  municipalities,  or  other  public  bodies, 
as  well  as  in  those  supported  by  voluntary  contributions. 

VI.  The  Section  of  Hygiene  also  expresses  its  desire  that  the 
ordinary  police  should  cause  decency  to  be  respected  in 
the  streets  and  in  all  public  places,  and  that  it  should  re- 
press all  public  scandal,  whether  caused  by  men  or  women. 

SECTION  OF  MORALS. 

I.  The  Section  of  Morality  affirms:  That  the  practice  of 
impurity  is  as  reprehensible  in  men  as  in  women. 

II.  That  “Regulation”  tends  to  destroy  the  idea  of  the  Unity 
of  the  Moral  Law  for  both  sexes,  and  to  lower  the  tone 
of  public  opinion  upon  this  subject. 

III.  That  every  system  which  organizes  prostitution  is  an  in- 
citement to  debauchery;  that  it  augments  the  number  of 
illegitimate  births,  increases  clandestine  prostitution,  and 
lowers  the  level  of  public  and  private  morality. 

IV.  That  the  compulsory  medical  examination  of  women,  which 
is  the  basis  of  all  systems  of  Regulation,  is  an  outrage 


The  American  Awakening 


237 


upon  the  woman,  and  tends  to  destroy  every  trace  of 
modesty  in  her. 

V.  That  Registration  is  an  offense  against  personal  liberty 
and  the  common  law. 

VI.  That  the  State,  by  the  system  of  Regulation,  ignores  its 
duty  of  equally  protecting  both  sexes;  corrupts  them  both 
and  degrades  woman. 

VII.  That  the  State,  whose  mission  it  is  to  protect  minors  and 
assist  them  in  their  endeavors  to  live  virtuously,  does  on 
the  contrary,  incite  them  to  debauchery,  by  facilitating 
the  practice  thereof  through  the  system  of  Regulation. 

VIII.  That  by  authorizing  houses  of  debauchery,  and  making 
of  prostitution  a regular  profession,  the  State  sanctions 
the  immoral  prejudice  that  debauchery  is  a necessity  for 
men. 

IX.  That  an  appeal  be  made  to  the  conscience  of  all  editors, 
authors,  booksellers  and  hawkers,  upon  the  two  contin- 
ents, urging  them  not  to  aid  or  favor  the  diffusion  of 
corrupt  literature,  licentious  books,  and  obscene  pictures. 

SECTION  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

I.  The  Section  of  Beneficence  affirms:  That  the  idea  im- 
plied by  State  Regulation  of  Vice  are  incompatible  with 
all  ideas  or  endeavors  after  rescue  and  rehabilitation. 

II.  That  it  has  been  proved  that  the  Regulation  of  Prosti- 
tution is  a great  obstacle  to  the  success  of  works  of  rescue, 
because  registration  and  the  medical  examination  are  op- 
posed to  every  sentiment  of  female  modesty;  a sentiment 
never  utterly  extinguished  in  any  woman,  however,  de- 
graded, and  render  more  difficult  that  rehabilitation  which 
may  and  ought  to  be  hoped  for  in  the  case  of  every  woman. 

III.  That  it  is  desirable  that  Homes  should  be  everywhere  es- 
tablished in  which  the  system  adopted  should  be  as  little 
penitentiary  as  possible,  because  Christian  love  is  the  only 
eflicacious  method  of  saving  young  girls. 

IV.  That  it  is  desirable  that  a system  of  communication  be 
established  to  put  a stop  to  the  white  slave  trade  in  all 
countries,  and  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  woman  seek- 
ing employment  in  all  countries. 


238 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Resolutions  in  accordance  with  the  principles  set  forth 
at  this  Congress  were  also  adopted  in  the  Sections  of  Social 
Economy  and  Legislation. 

The  Congress  thus  marked  the  beginning  of  a new  era 
in  social  progress  throughout  the  world.  It  proved  it  pos- 
sible for  a large  Congress  of  intelligent  and  highly  repu- 
table men  and  women  to  meet  and  deliberate,  with  a becom- 
ing delicacy,  and  a profound  reverence  for  truth,  upon  the 
gravest  of  the  problems  which  concern  social  science,  civili- 
zation and  Christianity.  The  oppressive  silence  so  long 
maintained  has  been  effectually  broken. 

An  address  of  the  New  York  Committee  was  also  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Powell,  which  reads  as  follows: 

“New  York,  August  13th,  1877. 

“To  the  International  Congress  concerning  Government  Regula- 
tion of  Prostitution; 

“The  New  York  Committee  for  the  Prevention  of  Licensed 
Prostitution  hails  with  much  satisfaction  your  important  convo- 
cation, and  sends  to  you  most  cordial  greetings. 

“Our  chief  American  city,  though  suffering  from  the  great 
evil  of  social  vice,  is  as  yet  free  from  such  governmental  regu- 
lation as  would  extend  to  prostitution  legal  sanction  and  encour- 
agement. We  have,  however,  regulation  advocates  who  seek  to 
introduce,  by  authority  of  the  State,  the  immoral  and  oppres- 
sive license  system.  Failing  in  earlier  attempts,  they  have 
again  sought  to  obtain  for  New  York  special  legal  authority  to 
regulate  and  ‘localize’  prostitution  with  police  and  medical  su- 
pervision. We  are  grateful  that  thus  far  they  have  been  un- 
successful. Our  chief  danger  is  that,  in  some  indirect,  covert 
manner  a regulation  scheme  may  be  thrust  upon  us.  Our 
safety  will  be  assured  only  when  the  regulation  system  shall 
have  been  abolished  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Continent.  The 
perpetuation  of  Governmental  regulation  of  prostitution  in  Eu- 
rope is  a standing  menace  to  us  in  America. 

“We  rejoice  to  note  the  progress  of  repeal  work  in  Great 
Britain,  and  of  the  profoundly  important  agitation  for  aboli- 
tion on  the  Continent,  especially  in  Italy,  Switzerland,  France 


The  American  Awakening 


239 


and  Spain.  This  agitation,  which  has  made  possible  your  Inter- 
national Congress,  marks  the  beginning  of  a social  revolution 
vital  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  human  race,  and  most 
important  as  allied  to  the  progress  of  true  Christian  civilization. 

“Having,  in  America,  abolished  the  cruel  and  unjust  system 
of  chattel  slavery,  we  shall  resist  to  the  uttermost  the  introduc- 
tion here  of  another,  and,  in  some  respects,  a yet  more  odious 
slave  system  which,  legalizing  prostitution,  creates  for  its  victim 
class.  We  shall  welcome,  with  thanksgiving,  each  new  triumph 
in  the  interest  of  social  purity  and  personal  liberty  in  Europe, 
and  shall  labor  and  pray  for  a speedy,  complete  victory  for  the 
‘new  abolitionists’  ’ movement.  With  eminent  wisdom  its  code 
of  morality  exacts  an  indispensable,  an  equal,  standard  of  per- 
sonal purity  for  men  and  women,  for  the  rich  and  for  the  poor; 
its  principles  are  synonymous  with  those  of  the  Gospel  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace. 

“Invoking  for  you  the  guidance  of  Divine  Wisdom  in  your 
deliberations,  and  the  abundant  blessings  of  the  All-Father,  we 
are  your  friends  and  co-workers. 

“A.  H.  Gibbons,  President. 

“Aaron  M.  Powell, 

“Emily  Blackwell,  M.  D., 

“William  H.  Hussey, 

“Anna  Lukens,  M.  D., 

“Vice-Presidents. 

“Cornelia  C.  Hussey, 

“Anna  Rice  Powell, 

“Secretaries. 

“Elizabeth  Gay,  Treasurer.” 

Mr.  Powell  kept  the  fires  burning  while  the  watchman 
slept.  He  was  Secretary  of  the  American  Purity  Alliance 
for  many  years,  and  published  “The  Philanthropist’’ 
at  New  York.  This  journal  was  later  merged  into  “Vigi- 
lance,” with  Dr.  0.  E.  Janney,  of  Baltimore,  as  editor. 

One  of  the  early  pioneers  who  did  valiant  service  was 
Frances  E.  Willard,  who  sought  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
the  new  abolition — deep  and  strong.  Under  her  leadership 


240 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  W.  C.  T.  U.  gave  a foremost  place  to  the  subject  of 
pure  life,  and  the  defense  of  womanhood.  The  white  ribhon 
badge  still  emblems  the  chaste,  as  well  as  the  sober  life, 
and  Miss  Willard’s  “White  Life  for  Two”  is  a fitting  me- 
morial of  her  own  priceless  life. 

Elsewhere  we  have  noticed  the  work  of  Sidney  Kendall 
and  Wiley  Phillips  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  to  which  was  added 
Mrs.  Charlton  Edholm’s  noble  stand  to  guard  the  girls  of 
the  Coast. 


II 

A DECADE  OF  PUBLIC  INTEREST. 

For  a number  of  years  the  movement  met  with  faint 
response,  but  during  the  past  decade  there  has  been  a mar- 
velous awakening  which  promises  to  lead  to  aggressive  and 
powerful  forces  for  righteousness  in  the  nation.  The  be- 
ginning of  the  new  century  was  also  the  beginning  of  a 
new  public  spirit  in  regard  to  the  social  evil. 

The  conspiracy  of  silence  which  had  long  prevailed,  was 
suddenly  broken  as  if  by  a concerted  plan.  The  most  con- 
servative of  the  professions  broke  through  its  reserve  and 
openly  declared  against  silence  and  ignorance  on  social  and 
sex  hygiene.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  says:  “During  my 
somewhat  long,  active  life  I have  never  seen  such  a change 
of  public  opinion  among  thoughtful  people  as  has  taken 
place  among  them  within  the  last  ten  years  on  the  subject  of 
sex  hygiene,  using  that  term  in  its  broadest  sense. 

The  great  magazines  vied  with  each  other  in  vivid  de- 
scriptions of  the  social  evil,  and  in  articles  of  great  talent 


Address  at  Buffalo.  N.  Y.,  Aug.  27,  1913. 


The  American  Awakening 


241 


and  much  detail,  portrayed  the  enormities  and  ruinous  ef- 
fects of  commercialized  vice ; newspapers  everywhere  joined 
in  the  war  with  characteristic  enterprise  and  force.  The 
printing  press  was  employed  also,  in  sending  out  thousands 
of  different  leaflets,  pamphlets  and  books,  some  of  which 
reached  enormous  sales.  The  popular  interest  was  so 
aroused  on  the  subject  that  fakirs  found  it  profitable  to 
sell  in  the  streets  of  our  cities  spurious  copies  of  parts  of 
these  books  and  of  fake  stories  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic. 

Playwrights,  quick  to  see  the  trend  of  public  interest, 
wrote  problem  plays — some  on  the  subject  of  sex  hygiene, 
of  which  Brieux’s  play  of  “Damaged  Goods,”  was  the 
most  noted  and  able.  Others  appeared  on  the  political, 
social,  and  economic  phases  of  the  subject,  while  scores  of 
minor  plays  and  picture-shows  were  exhibited. 

Of  course,  this  new  activity  on  a subject  which,  in  the 
past,  had  been  regarded  as  a pestilence  that  must  not  be 
named,  has  aroused  some  public  censorship,  and  it  is  curi- 
ous to  note  that  some  plays  and  books  with  evident  moral 
intent  and  purpose  have  been  suppressed  because  of  speech 
or  picture  too  true  and  accurate,  while  salacious  fiction,  dis- 
gusting stage  exhibits  and  dances,  in  which  semi-nudeness 
and  immoral  suggestions  are  openly  exploited,  pass  with  im- 
plied approval. 

A more  tangible  and  even  more  remarkable  evidence 
of  the  moral  awakening,  however,  is  seen  in  the  attitude  of 
government — both  State  and  Federal — and  the  activities  of 
civic  and  citizen  bodies  in  investigating  actual  vice  condi- 
tions and  in  seeking  remedies. 

Out  of  a passionate  desire  to  see  something  done,  big 
enough  to  cope  with  the  extent  and  power  of  the  organized 


242 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


infamy,  Mr.  Coote^  tells  of  the  Conference  of  European 
Powers,  officially  invited  by  the  Government  of  France. 

“In  July,  1902,  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  the 
French  Government,  sixteen  countries  were  represented  by 
thirty-six  delegates,  who  met  at  the  Foreign  Office  in  Paris, 
to  consider  what  measures  would  be  adopted  to  effectually 
break  up  these  syndicates  of  evil.  After  five  days’  delib- 
eration, the  outcome  of  their  labors  was  the  drafting  of  an 
international  agreement,  which,  in  our  opinion,  if  adopted 
by  all  civilized  countries,  would  so  fully  protect  young 
women  that  the  moral  risks  attendant  upon  their  traveling 
in  any  part  of  the  world,  either  for  business  or  recreative 
purposes,  would  be  greatly  reduced,  if  not  altogether  done 
away  with.  The  soil  being  already  prepared,  the  decisions 
arrived  at  by  the  official  conference  found  ready  acceptance 
by  the  National  Committee  of  Europe.  The  subsequent 
working  of  this  agreement  has  fully  demonstrated  its  value 
and  effectiveness  in  the  suppression  of  the  White  Slave 
Traffic.” 

An  International  Treaty. — Mr.  Edwin  Sims  records 
the  International  movement  to  suppress  the  traffic  through- 
out the  world.  This  movement,  he  shows,  culminated  on 
May  18,  1904,  in  a formal  agreement  by  the  Governments 
of  Germany,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Spain,  France,  Great  Brit- 
ain, Italy,  The  Netherlands,  Portugal,  Russia,  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, and  the  Swiss  Federal  Council  and  was  submitted  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  proclaimed  by  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  June  15,  1908. 

The  most  important  provisions  of  the  treaty  are  con- 
tained in  the  first  three  articles: 

1.  Each  of  the  contracting  governments  agrees  to 


*“A  Vision  and  its  Fulfilment,”  p.  140. 


The  American  Awakening 


243 


establish  or  designate  an  authority  who  will  be  directed  to 
centralize  information  concerning  the  procuration  of  wom- 
en and  girls,  for  the  purpose  of  their  debauchery  in  a for- 
eign country : That  authority  shall  be  empowered  to  cor- 
respond directly  with  the  similar  service  established  in 
each  of  the  other  contracting  states. 

2.  Each  of  the  governments  agrees  to  exercise  super- 
vision of  railway  stations,  ports  of  embarkation  and  of 
women  and  girls  in  transit,  in  order  to  procure  all  possible 
information  leading  to  the  discovery  of  criminal  traffic. 
The  arrival  of  persons  involved  in  such  traffic,  as  procurers 
or  victims,  shall  be  communicated  to  diplomatic  or  consular 
agents. 

3.  The  governments  agree  to  inform  the  authorities  of 
the  country  of  origin  of  the  discovery  of  such  unfortunates 
and  to  retain,  pending  advice,  such  victims  in  institutions 
of  public  or  private  charity.  Such  parties  will  be  returned 
after  proper  identification  to  the  country  of  origin. 

The  United  States  Joins  in  the  Treaty. — The  note 
of  International  purpose  duly  reached  the  United  States; 
our  government  was  somewhat  tardy  in  response,  but,  in 
1908,  the  treaty  was  carefully  considered  and  its  ratifi- 
cation advised  by  the  Senate  and  proclaimed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, on  June  15th  of  that  year. 

Mr.  James  Bronson  Reynolds  thus  writes  of  this  event: 

“If  I am  correctly  informed,  this  is  the  first  treaty  re- 
lating to  social  morality  consummated  between  the  leading 
civilized  governments  of  the  world.  This  action  is  of  the 
highest  significance  and  importance.  The  provisions  of 
this  treaty  should  be  generally  known  by  our  people,  which 
is  not  the  case  today,  and  we  should  carefully  consider  our 
obligations  as  citizens  to  its  proper  fulfilment.  It  should 


244 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


be  hailed  as  a step  of  progress  in  this  twentieth  century, 
which  seems  destined  to  record  great  improvements  in  social 
well-being  and  in  the  removal  of  inequalities  of  condi- 
tion.” 

In  1901  the  “Committee  of  Fifteen,”  of  New  York,  was 
organized  to  collect  evidence  against  the  gangs  of  panders 
and  others,  and  their  report  was  published  in  1902  in  a 
volume  edited  by  Dr.  Edwin  R.  A.  Seligman,  which  proved 
of  such  interest  and  value  that  a revised  and  standard  edi- 
tion was  published  early  in  1912. 

Following  closely  upon  the  work  of  the  “Committee  of 
Fifteen”  the  New  York  Medical  Society  appointed  a “Com- 
mittee of  Seven”  to  study  the  effect  and  prevalence  of 
venereal  diseases  and  their  remedies.  The  selection  of 
Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow,  as  chairman  of  that  committee, 
proved  to  be  of  immeasurable  importance  and  value  to  the 
country.  As  chairman  of  the  committee  Dr.  Morrow  pre- 
sented a remarkable  report  which  was  published  in  the 
Medical  News,  December  21,  1901,  and  a reprint  was  is- 
sued. (See  chapter  on  The  American  Peril.) 

In  May,  1904,  Dr.  Morrow  went  one  step  further  in  his 
aggressive  attack  on  venereal  diseases,  advocating  the  for- 
mation of  the  American  Society  of  Social  and  ]\Ioral 
Prophylaxis,  and  early  in  1905  this  society  was  organized. 

This  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  a rapid  growth  of 
interest  in  social  hygiene,  and  Dr.  Morrow’s  great  work  on 
“Social  Diseases  and  Marriage”  has  done  much  towards 
working  a revolution  in  the  thought  of  intelligent  citizens 
throughout  the  country.  It  is  an  authority  on  the  subject. 
Scores  of  smaller  books  by  medical  authors,  designed  to 
reach  the  masses,  have  followed  it,  such  as  those  by  Dr. 
Winfield  Scott  Hall,  of  Chicago,  who  has  done  great  service 
by  his  lectures  and  books  on  Social  Hygiene. 


The  American  Awakening 


245 


In  1905  the  New  York  “Committee  of  Fourteen”  be- 
gan its  work.  The  ‘ ‘ Committee  of  Fifteen  ’ ’ had  shown  that 
a very  close  connection  exisited  between  professional  vice 
and  “Raines  Law  Hotels”  which  notoriously  offered  facili- 
ties for  vice  and  were  charged  with  being  especially  con- 
tributory to  the  seduction  of  young  girls.  As  these  evils 
increased,  rather  than  abated,  this  committee  was  created 
to  find  a way  to  suppress  them,  and  in  1907  a sub-eommittCQ 
was  formed  called  the  “Research  Committee  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fourteen.” 

Dr.  Seligman  furnished  an  account  of  the  work  of  this 
committee  in  his  revised  volume  referred  to  above. 

“Beginning  in  the  year  1906,  and  rapidly  following  in 
the  succeeding  years,  such  societies  were  formed  in  Syra- 
cuse, Baltimore,  Buffalo,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Hart- 
ford, Milwaukee,  Detroit,  Oakland,  Denver,  Chicago,  In- 
dianapolis, Portland  (Ore.),  Spokane,  Elkins  (W.  Va.), 
San  Antonio,  Providence,  Seattle  and  East  Orange.  Of 
these  eighteen  societies,  one-half  (California,  Colorado,  Con- 
necticut, Indiana,  Maryland,  New  Jersey,  Rhode  Island, 
Texas  and  West  Virginia)  are  states,  the  remainder,  local 
associations.  Many  of  these  societies  publish  literature  of 
their  own,  and  are  aiding  materially  in  spreading  a knowl- 
edge of  the  movement  throughout  the  country,  co-operating 
also  with  the  vigilance  committees,  and  designed  to  sup- 
press the  White  Slave  Traffic.  In  several  states,  notably 
California,  Florida,  Idaho,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  Michi- 
gan, Ohio,  North  Dakota  and  Rhode  Island,  the  State 
Board  of  Health  has  been  induced  to  take  up  the  matter 
and  spread  broadcast  suitable  literature. 

“At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1910  a quarterly  period- 
ical was  started  entitled  ‘ Social  Diseases.  ’ This  did  its 
work  so  well  that  in  June  of  the  same  year  a meeting  of 


246 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  delegates  from  the  different  societies  was  held  in  St. 
Louis,  and  a national  organization  was  formed  under  the 
name  of  the  American  Federation  for  Sex  Hygiene.  The 
purpose  of  this  Federation  was  declared  to  be  the  educa- 
tion of  the  public  in  the  physiology  and  hygiene  of  the 
sex,  and  the  study  and  application  of  every  means — edu- 
cational, sanitary,  moral  and  legislative — for  the  preven- 
tion of  syphilis  and  of  gonococcus  infection.  Dr.  i\Iorrow 
was  elected  president  and  President  Emeritus  Eliot,  of 
Harvard  University,  was  made  honorary  president,  with  a 
distinguished  list  of  vice-presidents  of  national  reputa- 
tion.” 

Notable  and  valuable  were  the  resolutions  of  that  body 
passed  at  the  St.  Louis  meeting  of  physicians,  which  read 
as  follows : 

“Whereas,  There  is  ample  evidence  of  a belief,  deeply 
grounded,  among  the  laity  that  sexual  indulgence  is  neces- 
sary to  the  health  of  the  normal  man ; and 

“Whereas,  There  exists,  in  consequence,  widely  dif- 
fering and  double  standards  of  moral  and  of  physical  health 
for  the  male  and  female  sexes,  that  lead  directly  to  the 
disease  and  death  of  many  women  and  children : 

“J5e  it  resolved,  That  the  American  Medical  Association, 
through  its  House  of  Delegates,  herehy  presents  for  the 
instruction  and  protection  of  the  lay  public,  the  unquali- 
fied declaration  that  illicit  sexual  intercourse  is  not  only 
unnecessary  to  health,  but  that  its  direct  consequence  in 
terms  of  infectious  disease  constitutes  a grave  menace  to 
the  physical  integrity  of  the  individual  and  the  nation H ^ 

A still  more  significant  demonstration  of  the  new  at- 
titude of  physicians  on  the  subject  is  given  in  the  recent 
work  of  Dr.  M.  J.  Exner,  Secretary,  Student  Department  of 


^The  Social  Evil,  pp.  227-230. 


The  American  Awakening 


247 


the  International  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association.  He 
publishes  a statement  of  the  problem  of  the  significance 
of  sex  to  young  men  which  includes  the  following  declara- 
tion : 

“In  view  of  the  individual  and  social  dangers  which  spring 
from  the  widespread  belief  that  continence  may  be  detrimental 
to  health,  and  of  the  fact  that  municipal  toleration  of  prosti- 
tution is  sometimes  defended  on  the  ground  that  sexual  in- 
dulgence is  necessary,  we,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the 
medical  profession,  testify  to  our  belief  that  continence  has 
not  been  shovm  to  be  detrimental  to  health  or  virility,  that 
there  is  no  evidence  of  its  being  inconsistent  with  the  highest 
physical,  mental  and  moral  efficiency;  and  that  it  offers  the 
only  sure  reliance  for  sexual  health  outside  of  marriage.^’ 

In  addition  to  the  able  statement  of  the  whole  question, 
as  it  relates  to  young  men,  a list  of  the  367  physicians  who 
signed  the  above  is  given. 

A NEW  -WEAPON. 

But  the  traffic  in  women  and  girls  thus  far  remained 
almost  undisturbed.  There  had  been  no  following  up  of 
the  Kendall  and  Phillips  whirlwind  attack  in  Los  Angeles, 
which  ultimately  closed  forever  the  vile  cribs  of  that  city. 
The  white  slave  dealer  and  his  henchmen,  the  panders, 
were  intrenched  behind  a system  more  or  less  organized, 
with  a police  policy  in  most  of  our  large  cities  which  vir- 
tually guaranteed  protection  to  the  criminal  vice  traders  for 
a price. 

A new  weapon,  however,  was  forming  against  commer- 
cialized vice.  In  Chicago,  up  to  this  time,  no  moral  senti- 
ment existed  which  was  at  all  adequate  to  the  enormity 
of  existing  evils;  nor  was  there  any  force  to  combat  the 
combination  of  the  trading  conspirators  against  the  honor 
and  safety  of  women  and  girls.  But  a series  of  events 


248 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


occurred  which  were  destined  to  prove  of  incalculable  value 
to  the  development  of  a nation-wide  struggle.  In  1905, 
Clifford  G.  Eoe,  a young  lawyer,  junior  member  of  a Chi- 
cago law  firm,  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  looking  after 
all  criminal  cases  for  his  firm.  Among  these  eases  was  one 
to  defend  a girl,  Stella  R , who  was  charged  with  lar- 

ceny. In  the  course  of  his  quest  for  evidence  in  defense, 
he  found  that  the  girl  had  been  trapped  into  a house  of  ill- 
fame  and  that  by  the  aid  of  a man — a barber — who  was  a 
visitor  at  the  house,  she  had  escaped.  The  “madame” 
with  the  usual  assurance  that  custom  had  begotten,  brought 
a charge  against  the  girl  of  stealing  the  clothes  she  wore 
when  she  fled.  Mr.  Roe  tells  the  story  in  his  own  clear 
way.^ 

Mr.  Roe  is  a young  man  of  highly  moral  character  and 
of  settled  religious  life,  and  he  is  also  made  of  the  sterling 
stuff  that,  once  aroused  to  a fight,  is  not  easily  daunted. 
By  process  of  law  he  secured  the  release  of  “Stella,”  but 
the  case  started  him  into  a line  of  hard  thinking.  "Was 
this  one  of  many  such  cases?  Was  it  possible  that  there 
existed  extensive  trading  of  this  kind  which  drives  young 
women  into  practical  enslavement? 

The  second  event  was  linked  to  the  first  in  the  follow- 
ing way:  A three  days’  conference  was  held  in  Chicago, 
on  October  9th,  10th  and  11th,  1906.  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones, 
with  his  characteristic  broad-minded  liberality,  offered  the 
use  of  the  finely  equipped  “Lincoln  Center”  for  the  occa- 
sion. The  Chicago  committee  consisted  of  Jenkin  Lloyd 
Jones,  Bishop  Samuel  T.  Fallows,  Rabbi  T.  Schanfarber, 
John  Balcom  Shaw,  D.  D.,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Caldwell,  Prof.  W.  S. 
Jackman,  Dr.  David  Paulson,  Rev.  J.  F.  Flint,  with  the 
Rev.  William  Burgess,  then  pastor  of  the  Park  Manor 


'Panders  and  Their  White  Slaves. 


The  American  Awakening 


249 


Congregational  Chnrcli,  as  chairman  of  the  committee.  The 
announcement  that  the  Rev.  Sidney  C.  Kendall,  of  Los 
Angeles,  would  speak  on  “White  Slavery,”  attracted  the 
attention  of  Mr.  Roe,  who  thus  learned  of  the  amazing  story 
of  a great  organized  national  and  international  traffic  in 
girls,  with  its  unspeakable  cruelties  and  degradation.  These 
facts  were  related  so  clearly  and  Mr.  Kendall’s  statements 
were  so  evidently  charged  with  truth  and  conviction,  that 
the  young  lawyer  could  not  help  taking  them  seriously,  es- 
pecially as  other  local  eases  were  already  coming  to  his 
knowledge. 

Another  link,  in  the  chain  of  events,  was  added  in  the 
change  of  the  Police  Court  system  in  Chicago  (which  Mr. 
Roe  describes  as  “seething  with  obnoxious  practices  and 
customs”),  to  the  new  Municipal  Court  with  “wider  lati- 
tude,” juster  methods  and  abler  judges. 

Thus  encouraged,  Mr.  Roe,  who  by  this  time  had  been  ap- 
pointed assistant  state’s  attorney,  set  himself  the  special 
task  of  attacking  panders  and  white  slavers. 

“First  we  turned,”  he  says,  “to  those  good  mission  workers 
who  had  been  laboring  in  the  brothels  and  slum  regions.  With 
all  the  good  people  of  this  type  whom  I could  find,  I held  many 
extended  interviews  in  my  office.  The  tales  they  told  me  of 
the  underworld  were  terrible,  and  at  first  I was  inclined  to  be- 
lieve they  were  somewhat  colored  by  prejudice.  The  Rev. 
Ernest  A.  Bell,  who  aided  in  the  trial  of  Pansy  Williams,  and 
Deaconess  Lucy  M.  Hall,  known  as  the  ‘mother  of  outcast  women 
and  girls,’  in  particular  told  me  of  their  experiences  in  the  dis- 
trict. 

“Deaconess  Hall  had  worked  in  the  red-light  district  for 
over  ten  years,  personally  visiting  houses  of  ill-repute  and  talk- 
ing with  the  inmates  wherever  she  was  allowed  to  do  so,  and 
in  these  years  she  had  gathered  a great  fund  of  information 
which  now  she  submitted  to  me.  In  her  quiet  way  she  had 
gone  about  unmolested.  She  had  come  to  be  regarded  almost  as 


250 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


an  angel  by  the  victims  of  the  vice  system  and  many  of  them 
had  confided  in  her  when  they  would  not  and  could  not  have 
confided  in  anyone  else.  Her  protests  in  the  past  against  this 
unspeakable  slavery  in  girls  had  been  unheeded.  She  had  la- 
bored almost  alone  and  was  powerless  to  do  much  more  than 
sympathize  and  console.” 

Mr.  Roe  then  sought  the  aid  of  the  Citizens’  Associa- 
tion and  the  Chicago  Law  and  Order  League,  and  while 
these  organizations  were  unable  to  assume  responsibility 
of  the  work,  they  promptly  loaned  the  services  of  their  de- 
tectives. But  he  early  found  that  the  way  of  true  and 
persistent  war  on  vice  is  not  easy.  He  says : 

‘‘As  I gathered  this  information  I discovered  that  I was 
entering  upon  a fight,  practically  single-handed,  against  some 
of  the  most  skillful  and  shifty  men  that  the  office  of  the  State’s 
Attorney  had  ever  dealt  with.  There  were  no  funds  at  the 
disposal  of  this  office  with  which  to  employ  detectives,  and  the 
only  detective  force  the  State  Attorney’s  office  had  was  four  men 
from  the  Police  Department  of  the  city.  These  men  were  always 
kept  busy  going  out  of  town  and  bringing  back  prisoners  who 
were  arrested  in  other  cities.  Because  of  this  lack  of  funds 
and  lack  of  detectives,  I often  found  it  necessary,  as  had  other 
Assistant  State’s  Attorneys,  in  other  matters,  to  act  in  the  role 
of  detective. 

“From  time  to  time  I called  upon  some  of  the  influential 
men  of  Chicago  with  the  idea  of  interesting  them  in  a fight 
against  the  panders,  but  these  men  were  too  busy  to  go  through 
the  evidence  which  I had  collected,  and  instead  of  gaining  their 
support,  I generally  received  rebuffs  and  jests  at  the  expense  of 
my  attitude  towards  the  white  slave  traffickers,  men,  who,  as 
well  by  their  active  as  their  moral  support,  failed  us  at  that 
time,  should  have  been  the  first  to  rise  and  strike  down  white 
slavery.  Mr.  Robert  Catherwood,  however,  studied  the  question 
thoroughly  and  became  convinced  of  the  existence  of  a traffic 
and  sale  of  women  for  immoral  purposes.  Together  we  dis- 
cussed many  plans  for  the  elimination  of  this  slavery.  While 
neither  of  us  realized  at  that  time  that  it  would  be  a warfare 


The  American  Awakening 


251 


of  years,  and  not  a battle  of  days,  we  were  agreed  that  the 
public  must  be  awakened  to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation.”^ 

Men  who,  as  well  by  their  active  as  their  moral  sup- 
port, failed  us  at  that  time,  should  have  been  the  first 
to  rise  and  strike  down  white  slavery.  Mr.  Robert  Cather- 
wood,  however,  studied  the  question  thoroughly  and  be- 
came convinced  of  the  existence  of  a traffic  and  sale  of 
women  for  immoral  purposes.  Together  we  discussed  many 
plans  for  the  elimination  of  this  slavery.  While  neither 
of  us  realized  at  that  time  that  it  would  be  a warfare 
of  years,  and  not  a battle  of  days,  we  were  agreed  that 
the  public  must  be  awakened  to  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation.  ’ 

“Too  great  prominence,”  says  Mr.  Roe,  in  another 
book,  “cannot  be  given  the  sturdy  and  sacrificing  efforts 
made  by  such  workers  as  Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell,  Rev.  Mel- 
bourne P.  Boynton,  Deaconess  Lucy  A.  Hall,  and  Salvation 
Army  Workers,  and  many  others  who  stood  night  after 
night  in  the  midst  of  the  vice  exposition  in  Chicago.  Yes, 
amid  the  clatter  and  clamor  of  Chicago’s  shame,  and 
preached  and  prayed  for  better  conditions.  Harassed 
and  jeered  at,  they  continued  unceasingly.^ 

“Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell  had  established  The  Midnight 
Mission  in  the  worst  part  of  this  district  as  early  as  August, 
1904.  This  mission  continues  in  its  work  of  endeavoring 
to  better  social  and  moral  conditions  to  this  day,  and  may 
it  long  continue  to  help  uplift  the  fallen.” 

The  movement  now  began  to  assume  more  general  im- 
portance. Dean  Walter  T.  Sumner  headed  an  investiga- 
tion on  the  west  side  of  Chicago  and  “such  eminent  jur- 


^Panders  and  Their  White  Slaves. 
^Prodigal  Daughters. 


252 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ists  as  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  Judge  Philip  Stein  and 
Honorable  Adolph  Kraus,  who  had  interested  themselves 
in  this  matter,  especially  because  it  had  been  charged  that 
the  men  engaged  in  the  business  of  supplying  the  West 
Side  levee  district  with  new  girls  were  chiefly  young 
Jews,  joined  in  the  view  that  the  law  must  he  changed. 

While  Mr.  Roe  sought  the  co-operation  of  business 
and  professional  men,  others  moved  among  the  clergy.  A 
number  of  small  conferences  were  held  in  the  fall  of  1907. 
Miss  Lucy  A.  Hall,  a deaconess  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and 
Mrs.  Ida  Evans  Haines  were  persistent,  amid  many  dis- 
couragments,  in  their  efforts  to  promote  a local  organi- 
zation. A committee  for  suppression  of  the  traffic  in  \dce 
was  created,  with  the  Rev.  Louis  P.  Cain,  D.  D.,  as  its 
chairman.  This  committee  continued  active  until  early  in 
1908,  several  groups  of  men  and  women  co-operated  to 
bring  about  a great  gathering,  and  several  hundred  min- 
isters of  all  denominations  assembled  in  the  Auditorium  of 
the  Central  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  February  10,  1908.  The  meet- 
ing was  presided  over  by  Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell,  and 
the  Rev.  A.  C.  Dixon,  now  pastor  of  Spurgeon’s  Taber- 
nacle, London ; Mrs.  Raymond  Robins,  Judge  Fake,  Clif- 
ford G.  Roe  and  Dr.  0.  E.  Janney,  of  Baltimore,  took 
part. 

Dr.  Janney,  as  president  of  the  National  Vigilance 
Committee,  addressed  a second  meeting  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  urging  the  organization  of  a State  Vigi- 
lance Society,  and  on  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  WiUiam  Bur- 
gess, such  an  association  was  agreed  upon.  Thus,  the 
Illinois  Vigilance  Association  was  born.  The  Rev.  M.  P. 
Boynton,  D.  D.,  was  elected  president,  and  the  Rev.  Ernest 
A.  Bell,  corresponding  secretary.  A committee  on  leg- 
islation was  appointed,  with  iMr.  Robert  Catherwood  as 


The  American  Awakening 


253 


chairman,  and  a joint  committee  was  formed  to  invite 
the  aid  of  men’s  clubs,  of  which  the  following  responded: 
The  Union  League,  City  Club,  Hamilton  Club,  Iroquois, 
Jefferson,  Press,  Quadrangle,  B’nai  B’rith,  Chicago  Law 
and  Order  League,  Citizens’  Association  and  the  Illinois 
Vigilance  Association. 

The  effect  of  this  move  was  to  secure  the  next  essen- 
tial link  in  the  chain  of  events,  which  Judge  Mack  had 
declared  necessary,  viz.,  a better  law  against  “pander- 
ing.” Mr.  Koe  tells  in  his  book  on  “Panders”  how  this 
was  promoted  and  how,  on  July  1,  1909,  the  law  came 
into  effect  which  is  an  acknowledged  model  state  law.  With 
this  new  instrument  of  law,  there  followed  a campaign 
of  prosecution  against  white  slavers  and  panderers,  which 
is  probably  without  precedent  in  this  or  any  other  coun- 
try. The  persistent,  plucky,  intelligent  work  of  Assistant 
State’s  Attorney  Eoe  resulted  in  the  conviction  of  scores 
of  scoundrels  until  over  400  convictions  were  obtained  in 
Chicago. 

Other  states  sought  to  copy  the  law.  The  New  England 
“Watch  and  Ward  Society”  of  Boston  became  interested. 
Mr.  J.  Frank  Chase,  the  secretary,  published  an  article  en- 
titled, “Pandering  Around  Plymouth  Rock,”  and  a pand- 
ering law  was  passed  in  Massachusetts  which  Mr.  Chase 
says  was  borrowed  almost  verbatim  et  literatim  from  the 
Illinois  law. 

The  first  case  under  this  law  broke  up  the  Panama  Gang 
— a story  which  might  have  formed  a chapter  from  some 
romance  of  Turkish  atrocities,  and,  like  some  others  told  by 
Mr.  Roe,  are  more  tragic  than  anything  in  Uncle  Tom’s 
Cabin. 

During  the  period  of  activity  in  Chicago,  events  were 


254 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


moving  elsewhere  which  furnished  other  links  in  the  chain. 

On  June  6,  1908,  President  Koosevelt  issued  the  procla- 
mation, making  the  United  States  a party  to  the  Interna- 
tional treaty  against  the  infamous  transportation  of  women 
and  girls  for  the  white  slave  traffic,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  Immigration  Act  was  passed,  to  suppress  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  girls  for  such  purposes. 

The  White  Slave  Traefic  Act. — In  1908,  Mr.  Wirt 
W.  Hallam,  the  present  Secretary  of  The  Illinois  Vigilance 
Association,  who  was  interested  in  the  transportation  of 
lumber,  suggested  that  the  principle  which  governed  inter- 
state transportation  of  goods  could  be  applied  to  the  inter- 
state traffic  in  women.  Attorney  Rufus  S.  Simmons  of 
Chicago,  gave  a legal  opinion  that  this  suggestion  was  in 
harmony  with  law.  On  September  first,  of  the  same  year, 
Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell,  Superintendent  of  the  Chicago  Mid- 
night Mission,  speaking  at  Winona,  Ind.,  called  attention, 
to  the  accepted  doctrine  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  that  “Congress,  under  the  commerce  clause  of  the 
Constitution  has  control  of  transportation  between  the 
states,  of  persons  as  well  as  of  goods.  ’ ’ A copy  of  Mr.  BeU’s 
address  was  handed  to  Mr.  Edwin  W.  Sims,  who  was  the 
United  States  District  Attorney  at  Chicago. 

In  1909  Congressman  Mann,  after  consultation  with 
Mr.  Sims,  introduced  a bill  which  with  characteristic  vigor 
he  pushed  through  Congress  and  on  June  25,  1910,  Presi- 
dent Taft  signed  the  White  Slave  Traffic  Act  and  it  be- 
came law.  See  Appendix  for  Copy  of  the  Act. 

The  validity  of  this  Act  has  been  challenged  on  three 
separate  occasions  and  the  Supreme  Court  has  sustained  it ; 
first  on  Feb.  24,  1913  and  twice  since  that  date.  “The 
law  was  assailed  as  unconstitutional  on  the  ground  that 


The  American  Awakening 


255 


women  are  not  articles  of  commerce  and  that  the  power  of 
Congress  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  does  not  apply.” 
This,  however,  was  overruled  in  the  decision  and  the  New 
York  Tribune  regarded  it  as  “one  of  the  most  significant 
interpretations  of  the  Constitution  as  a grant  of  national 
power  adequate  to  developing  national  needs.” 

In  1912  the  Department  of  Justice  appointed  Mr.  Stan- 
ley W.  Finch  a special  commissioner  to  suppress  the  traffic 
in  girls  and  Congress  voted  $100,000  to  sustain  the  cost  of 
this  work. 

The  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law  : — In  1909  a bill 
was  prepared  in  Iowa,  called  “The  Injunction  and  Abate- 
ment Act,”  which  proposed  to  turn  the  forces  of  law 
against  the  property  used  for  immoral  purposes  and  against 
the  victimizers,  instead  of  against  the  victims.  Attorney- 
General  George  Cosson,  and  Mr.  John  Hammond,  both  of 
Des  Moines,  very  vigorously  championed  this  bill.  It  was 
passed  into  law  and  its  provisions  were  immediately  di- 
rected toward  the  red-light  district  of  Des  Moines  and  other 
cities  of  Iowa.  Under  the  new  law,  the  house  of  ill-fame 
was  closed — the  furnishings  were  confiscated,  and  a penalty 
of  $300.00  attached  to  the  property. 

Testimony  comes  from  many  quarters  that  all  the  gloomy 
prophecies  of  the  evils  being  scattered  into  respectable 
neighborhoods  have  proved  false.  The  safety  of  women  and 
girls  on  the  public  streets  is  now  assured,  the  crime  of 
rape  has  almost  disappeared  and  general  crime  has  been 
greatly  reduced. 

There  may  be  objectors  who  fear  that  the  drastic  action 
of  such  a law  might  inconvenience  some  who  are  not 
actually  in  the  business,  but  the  real  opponents  are,  in  the 
words  of  U.  S.  Senator  T.  J.  Brooks  of  Tennessee: 


256 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“Every  mistress  of  every  bawdyhouse;  every  keeper  of  every 
assignation  house;  every  degraded  wretch  who  is  in  these  dens 
from  choice;  every  procurer,  ‘cadet,’  pimp,  panderer,  and  white- 
slave  dealer;  every  debauchee  who  places  lust  above  honor  and 
lasciviousness  above  virtue;  every  conscienceless  brute  who 
wants  to  blight  innocence  and  glut  his  beastly  passion  on  the 
jewel  of  some  home;  every  heartless  scoundrel  who  wants  to 
coin  money  from  the  misfortunes  of  the  foolish  and  the  shame- 
less revels  of  the  vice-seeking  denizens  of  the  underworld; 
every  unprincipled  landlord  who  had  rather  rent  a house  for  a 
high  price  to  be  used  as  a hellish  den  than  to  rent  at  a lower 
rate  for  legitimate  business;  everyone  who  cares  nothing  for 
humanity  but  thinks  ‘the  world  is  a fraud  and  one  who  doesn’t 
play  his  part  is  a fool.’  ’’ 

Nebraska  followed  Iowa,  in  adopting  a similar  law, 
Avliich  went  into  effect  in  that  State,  July  10,  1911,  and 
excellent  results  immediately  followed,  especially  in  Oma- 
ha. In  the  same  year  the  Illinois  Vigilance  Association 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  secure  the  passing  of  a like  bill 
for  that  State  and  the  Senate  adopted  it  by  a vote  of  39 
to  2,  but  a House  Committee  viciously  killed  it  by  prevent- 
ing a vote  of  the  House  upon  it.  In  1913  the  Associa- 
tion made  another  vigorous  effort,  but  again  a conspiracy 
to  defeat  the  bill  in  committee,  prevented  a vote  being  taken 
on  it. 

In  1913,  similar  bills  Avere  passed  in  the  states  of  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  California,  Kansas,  South  Dakota,  Utah, 
Wisconsin,  Pennsylvania  and  ^Minnesota  ; and  Senator  Ken- 
yon’s  bill  for  Washington  and  the  District  of  Columbia 
AAms  passed  early  in  February,  1914.  This  bill  was  signed 
by  President  Wilson,  Feb.  7th,  1914,  and  became  law.  A 
copy  of  the  Act  is  given  in  the  Appendices  to  this  volume. 

The  principle  of  injunction,  as  applied  to  houses  of  ill- 
fame,  is  not  new.  In  almost  every  State  in  the  Union  such 
resorts  are  declared  a nuisance  by  the  common  law.  An  in- 


The  American  Awakening 


257 


junction  may  be  issued  against  them  as  nuisances  to  neigh- 
boring property.  Such  injunctions  have  been  granted 
against  property,  but  the  process  of  law  is  technical  and  ex- 
pensive and  does  not  protect  the  citizen  against  the  “nuis- 
ance” unless  he  is  a property  owner,  whose  property  suf- 
fers in  value.  Such  action,  however,  has  been  used  with 
great  advantage  to  public  morals. 

With  characteristic  courage,  Arthur  Burrage  Farwell, 
President  of  the  Chicago  Law  and  Order  League,  with  the 
backing  of  his  Committee  and  others,  at  a cost  of  about  a 
thousand  dollars,  went  over  the  heads  of  the  Mayor  and 
Police  authorities,  in  an  action  by  injunction,  under  the 
common  law,  against  owners  of  property  in  the  notorious 
red-light  districts  of  the  city  and  a decision  was  given  in 
the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  County  in  the  case  of  Philo  A. 
Otis  vs.  S.  L.  Brierly  and  Cira  Abbott,  restraining  them 
from  using  the  property  for  immoral  purposes. 

At  Seattle,  Washington,  a more  sweeping  use  of  injunc- 
tion proceedings  was  made  by  “The  Public  Welfare 
League.”  On  August  4,  1910,  a suit  was  entered  against 
the  Mayor,  Chief  of  Police,  Commissioners  of  Health,  City 
Council,  and  the  owners,  managers,  and  lessees  of  property 
in  the  district,  maintaining  and  operating  the  same  for  im- 
moral purposes.  Mr.  James  B.  Murphy  acted  as  the  plain- 
tiff in  the  case.  On  October  12th  the  same  year,  a tempor- 
ary injunction  was  granted,  a bond  of  $2,500.00  being  re- 
quired. No  appeal  was  made,  within  the  limit  of  ninety 
days  allowed,  and  the  injunction  became  permanent.  Pros- 
titution, however,  was  still  allowed  to  flourish  and  “Con- 
tempt of  Court”  proceedings  were  issued  against  the  city 
officials  and  the  owners,  managers,  and  lessees  of  the  prop- 
erty in  question. 

Meantime  the  Welfare  League  started  proceedings  of 


258 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Re-call  against  Mayor  Hiram  C.  Gill,  who  was  held  respon- 
sible for  much  of  the  contempt  of  law.  A great  popular 
wave  was  created  in  the  effort  to  get  the  requisite  number 
of  voters  to  sign  the  petition  and  on  December  20,  1910, 
these  petitions  bearing  10,701  names  of  voters,  sufficient 
under  the  law;  and  the  Mayor  was  recalled.  In  the  sub- 
sequent election  social  order  was  the  sole  issue  and  the 
League’s  Candidate,  Geo.  W.  Dilling,  was  elected.  Thus  the 
red-light  district  was  effectually  closed.^ 

At  Atlanta,  Ga.,  an  effective  movement  was  conducted 
under  the  auspices  of  the  “Men  and  Religious  Forward 
Movement.”  They  prepared  a series  of  very  striking  and 
forceful  bulletins  on  the  vice  situation  in  that  city;  and 
showing  the  conditions  and  manner  of  meeting  them  in 
other  cities.  In  June,  1912,  they  published  these  at  in- 
tervals, as  paid  advertisements  in  the  three  daily  papers  of 
the  city.  One  of  these  bulletins  is  published  as  an  ap- 
pendix to  this  volume.  In  September,  four  months  after  the 
appearance  of  the  first  Bulletin,  the  day  before  the  publica- 
tion of  Bulletin  No.  20,  the  Chief  of  Police  issued  the  order 
which  closed  the  segregated  district  and  the  recognized 
houses  of  prostitution  in  the  city. 

Police  Women: — Among  the  agencies  which  may  con- 
tribute to  a better  moral  condition  in  cities,  and  which  are 
the  outcome  of  the  movement  to  safeguard  women  and  girls, 
the  appointment  of  women  police  officers  may  be  named.  In 
Portland,  Ore.,  and  Tacoma,  Wash.,  they  have  Departments 
of  Public  Safety  with  women  as  officers.  In  Seattle,  Wash., 
there  are  three  or  four  police  women.  In  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul,  there  are  one  or  two  in  each  city.  Baltimore  has 

‘Mr.  Gill  subsequently  saw  his  mistake  and  courted  re- 
newed confidence.  Being  an  able  administrator,  public  feel- 
ing turned  again  in  his  favor,  and  in  the  early  spring  elec- 
tion of  1914  he  was  re-elected  mayor  by  a large  majority. 


The  American  Awakening 


259 


three  police  women ; Los  Angeles,  two,  and  a police  matron. 
In  San  Antonio  there  are  four  police  matrons ; and  in  Den- 
ver, Col.,  there  is  at  least  one  as  Inspector  of  Dance  HaUs. 
In  October,  1912,  Chicago  appointed  ten  police  women. 
San  Francisco,  Oakland,  and  other  cities  are  considering 
such  appointments. 

The  year  1910  was  notable  for  several  events  that 
marked  the  wonderful  progress  of  this  movement.  It  was 
early  in  this  year  that  New  York  appointed  a special  Grand 
Jury,  with  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  as  chairman,  to  which 
reference  is  made  in  Chapter  II  of  this  work. 

Vice  Commission  Reports: — It  was  in  1910  also  that  the 
Chicago  Vice  Commission  made  its  remarkable  investiga- 
tion. Its  report  was  published  in  a cloth  bound  volume 
of  300  pages,  bearing  the  title,  “The  Social  Evil  in  Chi- 
cago,” of  which  two  editions,  of  10,000  copies  each,  were 
privately  circulated  to  legislators,  public  officials  and  pri- 
vate citizens.  A third  edition  of  10,000  copies  was  pub- 
lished by  the  American  Vigilance  Association,  and  is  being 
distributed,  at  cost,  to  students  of  social  reform,  libraries, 
and  others. 

The  Commission,  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  consisted  of 
thirty  prominent  and  conservative  citizens  of  Chicago,  of 
whom  nine  were  ministers,  eight  business  men,  five  physi- 
cians, four  college  professors,  three  judges  or  attorneys,  and 
one  other.  Two  of  the  number  were  women,  one  of  whom 
was  a physician.  Dean  Walter  T.  Sumner  was  Chairman, 
District  Attorney  Edwin  W.  Sims  was  Secretary ; and  Mr. 
George  J.  Kneeland,  chief  investigator.  The  overwhelming 
testimony  which  the  investigation  brought  resulted  in  an 
unanimous  verdict  against  regulation  or  segregation,  and 
was  summed  up  in  the  opening  words  of  the  report,  thus: 


260 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“Constant  and  persistent  repression  of  prostitution 
the  immediate  method:  Absolute  annihilation  of  the 
ultimate  ideal.”  Such  is  the  recommendation  of  this 
commission.  That  it  may  be  put  in  force  effectually  and 
unremittingly,  we  further  recommend : 

First:  The  appointment  of  a Morals  Commission. 

Second:  The  establishment  of  a Morals  Court. 

Minneapolis  followed  the  lead  of  Chicago,  and  in  Aug- 
ust, 1910,  a commission  of  fifteen  was  appointed  by  the 
Mayor,  with  the  Rev.  Marion  D.  Shutter,  D.  D.,  as  Chair- 
man, and  Eugene  T.  Lies,  Secretary.  At  the  opening  of 
the  inquiry  the  same  doubt,  as  to  segregation,  which  existed 
in  Chicago  before  the  investigation,  existed  here,  but  the 
conclusions  were  almost  identical  with  those  of  the  Chicago 
Commission.  The  same  may  be  said  of  other  reports  that 
followed,  with  remarkable  unanimity  of  findings  and  opin- 
ions. The  following  is  a list  of  such  commissions  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  present  year,  1914 : 

VICE  COMMISSIONS  AND  INVESTIGATION. 

MUNICIPAL  COMMISSIONS. 

Chicago,  111.:  Appointed  April  5,  1910;  reported  April  5, 
1911. 

Minneapolis,  Minn.:  Appointed  August,  1910;  reported  July 
12,  1911. 

Atlanta,  Ga.:  Appointed  April  15,  1912;  reported  October 
7,  1912. 

Columbia,  Mo.;  Appointed  March,  1913. 

Columbus,  Ohio:  Appointed  April,  1913. 

Denver,  Colo.;  Appointed  Sept.  15,  1912;  became  the  Den- 
ver Morals  Commission,  January,  1913. 

Hartford,  Conn.;  Appointed  January,  1912. 

Jacksonville,  Fla.:  Appointed  September,  1912. 

Little  Rock,  Ark.:  Appointed  January,  1912;  reported  De- 
cember, 1912. 


The  American  Awakening 


261 


Philadelphia,  Pa.:  Appointed  May,  1912;  reported  April, 
1913. 

Portland,  Ore.:  Appointed  September,  1912;  first  report 
January,  1912;  second  report  August,  1912;  last  report  Janu- 
ary, 1913. 

Shreveport,  La.:  Appointed  April,  1913. 

STANDING  COMMISSIONS. 

Denver  Morals  Commission:  Appointed  January  31,  1913. 
Chairman,  Rev.  H.  F.  Rail. 

Minneapolis  Morals  Commission:  Appointed  March,  1913. 
Chairman,  Dr.  Marion  D.  Shutter. 

Pittsburg,  Pa.:  Morals  Efficiency  Commission,  appointed 
May,  1912.  Chairman,  Frederick  A.  Rhodes. 

STATE  COMMISSIONS. 

Illinois:  Appointed  February,  1913. 

Maryland:  Appointed  March,  1913. 

Massachusetts:  Appointed  April,  1913 — Reported. 

Missouri:  Appointed  April,  1913. 

Wisconsin:  Appointed  1913. 

UNOFFICIAL  COMMISSIONS. 

Cleveland,  Ohio:  Cleveland  Baptist  Brotherhood,  appointed 
May,  1911;  reported  October,  1911. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.:  Moral  Efficiency  Commission.  Chair- 
man, Bishop  John  N.  McCormick. 

Macon,  Ga.:  Appointed  January  6,  1913.  Chairman,  E.  W. 
Stetson. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.:  Appointed  September,  1912;  first  report 
February,  1913. 

LaFayette,  Ind. : Ind,  Church  Council;  reported  October, 
1913. 

Lancaster,  Pa.:  Published  February,  1914. 

INVESTIGATIONS. 

Kansas  City,  Kans.:  Reported  January,  1912. 

New  York  City,  N.  Y.:  Committee  of  Fourteen-Research 
Committee.  Reported  in  1910. 

New  York  City,  N.  Y.:  Bureau  of  Social  Hygiene,  Janu- 
ary, 1912.  Reported  May,  1913. 


262 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


New  York  City,  N.  Y.:  New  York  Citizens’  Committee.  Re- 
ported February  27,  1913. 

Chicago,  111.:  Committee  of  Aldermen.  Appointed  October 
12,  1912.  Reported  March,  1913. 

Peoria,  111.:  By  Committee  of  Citizens;  Chairman,  Rev. 
Clement  G.  Clarke.  Investigation  began  January,  1914. 

Pittsburg,  Pa.:  Voters’  League  of  Pittsburg,  October  4, 
1912. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.:  Commonwealth  Club  of  California  to 
ascertain  the  prevalence  and  influence  of  venereal  diseases.  Re- 
ported February  8,  1911. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.:  Syracuse  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Social  Diseases.  Social  Evil  Committee  to  ascertain  prevalence 
of  venereal  diseases  in  Syracuse.  Reported  February,  1911. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.:  Made  by  Syracuse  Moral  Survey  Commit- 
tee, March  25,  1912.  Reported  March,  1913. 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  INTEREST. 

It  is  significant  that  a body  so  conservative,  on  matters 
outside  the  immediate  domain  of  religious  instruction  as 
the  International  Sunday  School  Association,  should  have 
felt  the  importance  of  creating  a purity  department  of  its 
work.  At  the  great  International  Conference  of  the  United 
States,  San  Francisco,  1912,  Mr.  E.  K.  Mohr  was  appointed 
Superintendent. 

In  another  field  of  service  came  the  remarkable  con- 
tribution by  Miss  Jane  Addams,  in  the  series  of  articles 
published  in  McClure’s  Magazine,  hearing  the  title,  “A 
New  Conscience  and  An  Ancient  Evil,”  afterwards  pub- 
lished in  a volume  bearing  the  same  title. 

Similar  service  and  even  more  valuable,  because  con- 
tinuous, are  the  able  articles  which  from  time  to  time  have 
appeared  in  the  magazine  and  newspaper  press,  and  es- 
pecially in  “Vigilance”  and  in  “The  Survey”  which  mark 
the  steps  of  progress  in  economic  study  and  moral  progress. 


The  American  Awakening 


263 


In  New  York,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Grannis  has,  with  great 
vigor  and  intelligence,  sustained  the  work  of  the  ‘ ‘ National 
Christian  League  for  the  Promotion  of  Purity.”  In  Chi- 
cago, Mr.  John  B.  Caldwell,  a printer,  has  employed  him- 
self and  his  presses  for  years,  more  to  spread  the  thought 
of  pre-natal  influences  and  personal  purity  than  for  his 
personal  gain  and,  with  the  aid  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  he  has 
carried  on  the  work  of  the  National  “Purity  League”  and 
published  the  Purity  Journal. 

In  the  Northwest,  Mr.  B.  S.  Steadwell  publishes  The 
Light.  He  organized  the  Northwestern  Purity  Associa- 
tion afterwards  changed  to  “The  World’s  Purity  Federa- 
tion.” The  Federation  under  Mr.  Steadwell ’s  leadership 
has  organized  some  excellent  campaigns  of  educational 
value,  but  thus  far,  it  has  not  succeeded  in  federating 
the  forces  of  the  movement. 

In  the  West,  at  Denver,  there  has  long  been  a band  of 
willing  workers  and  all  over  the  country  there  are  men  and 
women  faithfully  devoting  their  talents  to  this  work. 

It  has  been  said  of  many  of  these  workers  that  they  have 
not  always  acted  with  discretion,  or  good  judgment;  and 
it  is  true  of  this,  as  of  other  reforms,  that  many  devoted 


In  an  article,  published  In  the  Continental  Times  of  June 
6,  1914,  we  read  that  “in  one  of  those  quaint  old  homes  of  a 
by-gone  aristocracy,  No.  5 East  Twelfth  street.  New  York,  there 
lives  and  labors  that  veteran  champion  of  public  morals  and 
women’s  rights,  Elizabeth  B.  Grannis,  President  of  the  National 
Christian  League  for  the  Promotion  of  Purity,  and  an  intimate, 
life-long  friend  of  President  Wilson  and  his  family.  Mrs.  Grannis 
is  a tiny,  silver-haired  woman,  who  has  been  associated  for  three 
generations  with  the  foremost  reformers  and  social  workers 
of  the  nation.”  The  writer  called  recently  at  the  home  of  this 
intensely  interesting  worker  and  found  her,  in  her  seventy-third 
year,  as  full  of  fire  and  service  as  when,  years  before,  we  met 
her  at  conferences  on  social  purity. 


264 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


men  and  women  have  undertaken  measures  for  which  they 
had  neither  means  nor  ability. 

Nevertheless,  to  such  devoted  souls  who  have  given  their 
time  and  service  in  unstinted  measure,  sometimes  at  the 
sacrifice  of  comfort  and  actual  necessities,  this  cause  owes  a 
debt  which  can  never  be  paid  until  the  great  summing  up  of 
the  final  Court  of  Justice  and  reward. 

Adequate  National  Organization  : — These  many  unre- 
lated agencies,  directed  against  the  worst  foe  that  ever  at- 
tacked any  nation — the  one  enemy  which  more  than  any 
other,  has  corrupted  and  destroyed  homes,  and  cities,  and 
nations — have  laid  upon  many  hearts  the  responsibility  of 
creating  some  efficient,  well  equipped,  and  thoroughly  or- 
ganized national  force  which  may  furnish  direction  and  aid 
for  continuous  service  throughout  the  country. 

The  numerous  awakenings  occurring,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  and  from  various  sources,  are  as  the  voice  of  God 
calling  us  to  marshal  our  forces  in  the  name  of  domestic 
purity,  physical  regeneration  and  moral  salvation. 

Circumstances  led  Clifford  G.  Roe  to  New  York,  Boston, 
and  other  Eastern  Cities  in  April,  1911,  where  for  a whole 
year  he  labored,  and  during  which  time  he  met  numerous 
philanthropists  who  were  seeking  a suitable  channel  through 
which  to  direct  this  national  work. 

The  National  Vigilance  Committee,  of  which  Dr.  0.  E. 
Janney  was  Chairman,  and  the  American  Purity  Alliance, 
united  about  April  1,  1912,  under  the  name  of  the  Ameri- 
can Vigilance  Association  with  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan  as 
President,  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  Dean  Sumner  as  Vice 
President  and  Charles  P.  Hutchinson,  President  of  the 
Corn  Exchange  Bank,  Chicago,  as  Treasurer.  At  the  begin- 
ning, the  executive,  with  I\Ir.  Roe  as  General  Counsel,  was 
located  at  Chicago,  but  a change  was  desired  with  the  head- 


The  American  Awakening 


265 


quarters  at  New  York,  and  Miss  Grace  E.  Dodge  became 
the  Treasurer  and  an  active  member  of  the  Executive. 

Subsequently  Mr.  Roe  entered  the  field  as  a lecturer,  and 
has  more  recently  become  the  President  of  the  American 
Bureau  of  Moral  Education,  of  which  he  is  the  founder, 
and  he  has  made  most  successful  educational  tours 
through  the  country. 

Negotiations  followed  for  a still  further  union  of  forces 
and  on  December  3d,  1913,  the  union  of  the  American  Vigil- 
ance Association  with  the  American  Federation  for  Sex 
Hygiene  was  completed  under  the  new  name  of  “The 
American  Social  Hygiene  Association,”  with  the  following 
as  its  leaders : President,  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot ; Vice 
Presidents,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan,  Dr. 
Wm.  T.  Poster,  Dean  Walter  T.  Sumner,  and  Felix  M. 
Warburg. 

There  are  some  doubts  expressed  as  to  the  wisdom  of  this 
new  name.  It  seems  to  many  that  by  adopting  this  name 
the  greater  moral  and  political  ends  in  view  are  obscured, 
with  a tendency  to  forget  them.  It  should  be  remarked, 
however,  that  on  reading  Dr.  Eliot’s  Buffalo  Address,  pub- 
lished in  Vigilance,  November,  1913,  one  cannot  feel  that 
the  President  has  a limited  moral  vision  on  the  subject. 

It  is  certain  that  the  moral  issues  involved  will  not  be 
lost  sight  of.  Already  there  are  other  forces  organizing  to 
emphasize  and  keep  alive  the  education  which  is  based  on 
ethical  and  religious  principles.  The  whole  question  is 
fundamentally  a moral  one.  To  the  law  of  righteousness 
and  virtue  the  appeal  is  made.  Whatsoever  a man  (or 
nation)  sows  that  shall  he  also  reap. 

The  issue  of  the  Report  of  the  Chicago  Vice  Commission 
made  a profound  impression  upon  that  city  but  its  recom- 
mendation for  a “Morals  Committee”  was  not  carried  into 


266 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


effect.  The  Report  was  presented  just  before  the  close  of 
Mayor  Busse ’s  term  of  office.  The  City  Council  later  passed 
a resolution  calling  for  a Committee  of  aldermen  to  inquire 
and  report.  On  October  12,  1912,  a Committee  of  nine  Al- 
derman was  appointed.  At  the  outset  it  was  understood 
that  “Segregation”  or  “Suppression”  was  the  issue  and 
intense  interest  prevailed  and  some  of  the  Committee  of 
nine  admitted  that  they  favored  segregation.  The  hearings 
were  at  first  held  in  one  of  the  Committee  Rooms  of  the  City 
Hall,  but  public  interest  increased  so  that  the  Council 
Chamber  was  opened  and  day  after  day  this  large  room  was 
crowded. 

An  able  attorney  appeared  on  behalf  of  the  segrega- 
tionists and  lengthy  addreses  were  given  on  that  side  of 
the  question.  Among  the  citizens  who  spoke  on  the  other 
side  were  the  following:  Attorney-General  George  Cos- 
son,  Dr.  Wm.  A.  Evans,  Rabbi  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Miss  Jane 
Addams,  Clifford  G.  Roe,  Jenkins  Lloyd  Jones,  William 
Burgess,  Miss  Kate  Adams,  Father  O’Callaghan,  Rufus 
S.  Simmons,  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  Miss  Maud  Miner, 
Miss  Virginia  Brooks,  John  B.  Hammond.  Pamphlets 
Nos.  1 and  2 were  published  by  The  American  Vigilance 
Association  containing  these  addresses,  and  several  thou- 
sands of  copies  have  been  circulated. 

The  Vice  Commission  of  Philadelphia  was  appointed 
by  Mayor  Blankenburg,  May  31st,  1912,  and  after  five 
months  of  investigation  with  the  aid  of  the  American 
Vigilance  Association’s  staff  of  w'orkers  the  commission 
presented  an  able  and  exhaustive  report.  Its  treatment 
of  the  subject  of  “education  on  sex  hygiene”  is  especially 
valuable.  They  offer  the  following  practical  suggestions : 

That  parents  and  educators  strive  earnestly  to  develop  definite 

methods  for  giving  the  home  and  school  life  of  younger 


The  American  Awakening  267 

children  a more  positive  influence  than  at  present  toward 
sex  decency  in  feeling  and  action. 

That  unclean  birth  and  physical  handicaps  should  be  guarded 
against: 

(1)  By  clear  teaching  as  to  the  change  of  scientific  and  tra- 
ditional estimate  of  chastity,  and  the  hygiene  and 
pathology  of  sex,  both  within  and  outside  of  wedlock. 

(2)  By  correction  of  the  practice,  among  physicians,  of 
keeping  married  women  who  are  under  treatment  for 
venereal  infection  in  ignorance  of  the  causation,  nature, 
and  effects  of  their  condition. 

(3)  By  the  cultivation  of  a sentiment,  professional  and  lay. 
In  favor  of  making  venereal  diseases  reportable  and 
subject  to  such  regulations  as  are  now  used  to  control 
less  serious  contagious  diseases. 

(4)  By  warning  against  malpractitioners. 

(5)  By  preparation  of  leaflets,  pamphlets,  etc.,  for  popular 
distribution. 

(a)  For  those  receiving  marriage  license. 

(b)  On  prenatal  care  of  mother  and  child,  with  empha- 
sis on  the  conjugal  duties  of  the  father  at  this  pe- 
riod, which  lathers  too  little  recognize. 

(c)  On  care  of  infants  lor  the  first  five  years  of  life, 
especially  emphasizing  dangers  of  and  safeguards 
against  infectious  diseases. 

(d)  On  the  care,  both  physical  and  mental,  of  adoles- 
cent children. 

That  churches,  schools,  universities,  extension  societies,  educa- 
tional associations,  and  individuals  should  spread  ideas  af- 
fecting sex  understanding  and  conduct.  As  examples  of 
topics  based  on  such  ideas,  now  obscure  in  the  mass  mind, 
but  meriting  widest  dissemination,  we  instance: 

(1)  History  of  marriage  and  development  of  the  home. 

(2)  The  development  of  the  care  of  children  as  the  highest 
race  achievement. 

(3)  The  use  of  children  in  modern  industry;  the  hope  of 
their  elimination  from  the  economic  field. 


268 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


(4)  The  causes  o£  poverty;  its  effects — “the  destruction  of 

the  poor  is  their  poverty”;  the  hope  of  its  cure  as  a 

social  disease. 

In  an  appendix  to  the  report  the  subject  of  education 
is  treated  at  length.  Illustrations  of  the  “Difficulties  of 
Mothers”,  of  the  “Perils  in  Early  School  Life”  of  chil- 
dren and  of  “Youth  in  Their  Efforts  to  Find  Help”  are 
given  in  frank  and  startlingly  realistic  terms.  The  illus- 
trations referred  to  are  of  value  in  such  a report,  designed 
as  it  is,  for  the  study  of  students  of  social  problems,  but 
are  not  suitable  for  a work  intended  for  general  circula- 
tion and  use. 

An  able  and  valuable  report  was  issued  in  January, 
1913,  by  the  Vice  Commission  of  Portland,  Oregon.  A map 
was  published  with  the  report  which  shows,  by  colored 
disks,  the  numerous  immoral  resorts  spread  all  over  the 
city  under  several  classifications  and  makes  this  remark : 
“A  person  might  stand  on  the  roof  of  one  of  the  principal 
churches  in  the  city  and  throw  a stone  into  any  one  of  14 
immoral  places,  10  of  which  are  wholly  immoral.”  The 
conclusions  of  the  Commission  on  Segregation  agreed  with 
those  of  the  other  commissions  and  are  stated  thus; 

Segregation  does  not  segregate. 

It  deals  with  only  a small  percentage  of  the  sexually 
immoral. 

It  promotes  and  justifies  professional  prostitution. 

It  does  not  reduce  clandestine  immorality. 

It  helps  to  establish  a double  standard  of  morality  by 
stigmatizing  the  woman  and  ignoring  the  moral  respon- 
sibility of  the  man. 

It  rests  on  the  false  presumption  that  sexual  immoral- 
ity is  necessary. 

It  fosters  the  debauchery  of  the  sex  instinct. 

It  promotes  the  spread  of  venereal  disease. 


The  American  Awakening 


269 


It  affords  official  absolution  for  illegal  and  immoral  con- 
duct. 

In  so  far  as  it  is  official  sanction  of  commercial  prosti- 
tution, it  is  the  concomitant  of  white  slavery. 

It  is  illegal. 

Segregation  : — ‘ ‘ I favor  segregation  because  men  need 
women,  and  it  is  better  to  have  them  collected  and 
regulated  in  one  section  than  allowed  to  spread  all  over 
the  residence  districts.”  This  was  the  actual  statement 
of  a man  of  good  reputation — a man  of  business — and 
it  is  the  thought  of  thousands.  “I”,  said  another,  “would 
license  the  houses  and  get  a revenue  out  of  it  instead  of 
leaving  it  to  graft.” 

Strange  that  men  are  so  slow  or  so  unwilling  to  see 
the  contradiction  of  this  attitude.  If  vice  is  a necessity 
it  is  not  wrong.  If  necessary,  it  is  normal,  right  and  law- 
ful, and  ought  to  be  as  free  and  untrammelled  as  any 
other  right  or  lawful  business. 

No  worse  error  can  be  promulgated  than  that  which 
was  expressed  in  the  report  of  the  Royal  Commission  of 
England,  in  1871.  The  report  says:  “There  is  no  com- 
parison to  be  made  between  prostitutes  and  the  men  who 
consort  with  them; — with  the  one  sex  the  offense  is  com- 
mitted as  a matter  of  gain ; with  the  other,  it  is  an  irregular 
indulgence  of  a natural  impulse.” 

Thus,  a great  commission,  consisting  of  26  men,  includ- 
ing British  members  of  parliament,  one  bishop,  several 
other  clergymen,  and  one  working  man,  was  so  obtuse 
that  it  proclaimed  the  ancient  fallacy  and  lie,  that  a 
greater  sin  rested  upon  the  poor  victim  who  sold  her 
honor  than  upon  him  who  bought  it.  It  should  be 
observed  that  in  the  minority  who  voted  against  it  was 
the  one  working  man.  These  “blind  leaders  of  the  blind” 


270 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


would  perpetuate  the  old  doctrine  that  to  buy  the  soul 
of  a woman  for  “the  indulgence  of  appetite”  is  a mild 
offense,  while  to  sell  it  under  the  strain  of  temptation, 
or  the  pressure  of  need,  is  a crime. 

The  plea  for  segregation,  as  applied  to  prostitution,  has 
no  basis  in  expedience  or  justice.  The  three  questions 
which  one  may  naturally  ask  on  the  subject  are : 

Why?  This  is  answered  in  the  light  of  experience. 
The  medical  experts  of  Europe  and  of  America  have 
declared  segregation  worse  than  a failure  as  a sanitary  or 
hygienic  agent;  and  as  a police  measure  for  restricting 
the  vice  to  a given  district  it  is  proven  to  be  a disastrous 
blunder.^  Moreover,  a “regulated”  or  “permitted”  dis- 
trict of  where  vice  prevails  by  official  permission  is,  in  its 
very  nature,  a vice  breeding  market  and  that  overflow  into 
other  districts  inevitably  follows. 

Where?  This  question  faces  the  fact  that  there  is  no 
place  where  such  a district  is  “wanted”  and  that  when 
established  by  police  authority  it  is  forced  upon  the  poor 
who  cannot  protect  themselves.  “No  one  wants  the  brothel 
in  his  own  neighborhood;  for  that  he  is  not  to  blame. 
Every  one  who  favors  segregation  wants  it  in  the  other 
man’s  neighborhood.”  “One  of  the  strongest  advocates 
of  segregation  writes  if  the  segregation  plan  went  through 
I would  not  have  the  nerve  to  suggest  the  site,  because 
if  it  were  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  my  house, 
I would  resort  to  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  project  as 
a nuisance ; and  I assume  that  everyone  else  would  feel 
the  same  way.”* 

Who?  The  segregation  plan  has  always  discriminated 
against  the  woman.  In  no  city  has  it  ever  been  attempted 

‘See  appendix  "Review  of  Prostitution  in  Europe.” 

^Minneapolis  Vice  Commission  Report. 


The  American  Awakening 


271 


to  segregate  both  the  man  and  woman  who  share  in  the 
vice  and  who  are  equally  objectionable  from  the  point  of 
view  of  social  order,  while  the  male  partner  is  the  most 
to  be  feared  in  regard  to  the  spread  of  venereal  disorders 
to  innocent  women  and  children. 

‘ ‘ The  duty  of  government  is  to  make  it  easy  to  do  right 
and  diflScult  to  do  wrong.”  So  said  Gladstone,  the  great 
British  statesman.  If  law  is  to  express  equity  and  morality, 
it  must  first  be  equal  and  moral.  What  is  morally  wrong, 
cannot  be  politically  right.  Therefore  it  must  be  the  aim 
of  any  nation  which  seeks  its  own  safety  and  the  con- 
servation of  its  people,  to  base  its  laws  on  right  principles. 

The  report  of  the  Moral  Survey  Committee  of  Syracuse 
is  a valuable  study  of  the  problem  as  it  affects  cities  of 
its  size  (137,000  pop.).  One  of  its  recommendations  is  for 
a city  ordinance  “similar  to  the  so-called  “Tin  Plate 
Ordinance”  of  Portland,  Ore.,  whereby  the  owner  of  any 
building  used  wholly  or  in  part  as  a hotel,  rooming  house, 
lodging  house,  etc.,  shall  maintain  at  the  principal  street 
entrance  a plate  hearing  the  name  and  address  of  the 
owner  or  owners  of  the  building  and  the  land  on  which 
it  stands.  It  recommends  that  “dance  halls  be  placed 
under  the  control  of  accredited  matrons ; and  that  no  asso- 
ciation of  the  dance  halls  with  saloons  or  the  sale  of 
liquor  be  permitted,”  and  also  that  “women  be  added 
to  the  police  force.” 

The  admission  of  women  into  the  politics  in  the  State 
of  Illinois  promises  to  be  a great  factor  in  the  repression 
of  the  social  evil  in  that  state  and  will  certainly  aid  in 
other  states  as  the  suffrage  is  extended  to  them.  “We  are 
fighting  commercialized  vice  and  all  that  it  implies,”  said 
Miss  Marion  Drake  in  her  heroic  attack  on  the  very  citadel 
of  all  that  is  implied  in  that  statement.  ‘ ‘ To  oppose  John 


272 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Coughlin  (Bathhouse  John)  in  the  Aldermanic  contest  of 
1914,  who  for  twenty-five  years  has  carried  the  first  ward 
of  Chicago  in  his  pocket,  was  to  “beard  the  lion  in 
its  den.” 

“Several  big  political  lessons  have  been  driven  home 
to  me  already,”  said  Miss  Drake;  “the  most  patent  obser- 
vation is  that  women  will  not  vote  for  a woman  candidate 
merely  because  she  is  of  their  sex.  Those  who  are  looking 
for  civic  betterment  cannot  drape  a few  political  clothes 
and  a spring  hat  on  a woman  and  expect  her  to  win  with- 
out massing  behind  her  all  the  legitimate  election  ma- 
chinery that  men  and  women  can  command.” 

Jack  London  says: — “When  the  women  get  the  vote 
they  will  vote  for  prohibition.  The  women  are  the  true 
conservators  of  the  race.  The  men  are  the  wastrels,  the 
adventure-lovers  and  gamblers  and,  in  the  end,  it  is  by  the 
women  that  they  are  saved.  The  women  know  they  have 
paid  an  incalculable  price.  Ever  jealous  for  the  race,  they 
will  legislate  for  the  babes  of  boys  yet  to  be  born ; and  for 
the  girls  too,  for  they  must  be  mothers,  wives  and  sisters 
of  these  boys.”  Jack  London’s  prophecy  has  already  been 
verified.  When  the  women  of  Illinois  exercised  their 
powers  to  vote  for  the  first  time,  April,  1914,  they  put  out 
of  business  in  one  day  over  a thousand  saloons  in  that 
state. 

The  story  of  “The  Awakening”,  thus  briefly  told,  is 
everywhere  in  evidence.  In  every  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  throughout  all  the  civilized  world  there  is  a 
mighty  growing  interest  in  a New  Morality  and  a demand 
for  the  Single  Standard  for  both  sexes. 

To  close  forever  the  market  of  vice — to  deprive  it  of 
commercial  relations — to  make  the  business  of  vice-vender 
and  pander  impossible — to  give  the  liberty  of  life  and 


The  American  Awakening  273 

love  to  all  women,  purer  honor  and  nobler  courage  and 
chivalry  to  all  men,  security  and  -knowledge  to  all  chil- 
dren, these  are  the  promises  and  pledges  of  an  awakening 
world:  “to  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and 
in  the  shadoiv  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  in  the  way  of 
peace” 


Theodore  Roosevelt  in  his  usual  forceful  style  pub- 
lished a very  able  article  in  The  Outlook  early  in  1911 
against  the  prevalent  evil  of  willful  sterility  in  America. 
The  author  of  this  volume  addressed  a letter  to  Mr 
Roosevelt,  of  which  the  following  is  a part : 

Your  appeal  to  the  willfully  sterile  will  arrest  some 
who  may  have  a change  of  heart  and  will,  but  no  appeal 
to  those  who  are  sterile  because  of  vice  diseases  can 
avail.  These  include  many  thousands  of  would-be 
parents,  women  whose  dead  hopes  are  buried  with  the 
loss  of  maternity  life,  and  men  who  knew  not  that  death 
of  posterity  attends  practice  of  vice. 

Here,  then.  Dr.  Roosevelt,  is  the  supreme  need  for 
your  forceful  voice  and  far-reaching  influence. 

America  needs  a .conversion  of  morals  in  practice. 
The  vice  commissions  of  New  York,  Chicago,  and  other 
cities  all  point  to  the  fact  that  our  national  increase  of 
wealth  has  been  attended  by  unparalleled  increase  of 
commercialized  vice. 

The  willful  sin  which  you  deplore,  itself  has  its  roots 
in  vice  and  your  persistent  protest  comes  none  too  soon 
to  arrest  the  evil. 

The  nation  needs  a revival  of  domestic  purity,  and 
marriage  sanctified  to  its  end.  It  needs  a standard  of 
morals  which  applies  equally  to  both  sexes,  that  makes 
no  appeal  to  the  divorce  courts  for  mere  convenience  or 
charge.  It  needs  education  in  the  essential  things  of  sex 
life. 

In  this  age,  when  to  know  is  the  legal  as  well  as  the 
natural  right  of  every  child,  the  most  potential,  insistent 
and  imperative  call  and  power  of  nature  is  not  to  be  si- 
lenced by  falsehood  and  pruriency. 

But  above  all,  we  need  a return  to  higher  ideals, 
which  revere  motherhood  and  hold  every  woman’s 
honor  as  a thing  to  be  defended  by  chivalry  and  law. 

William  Burgess. 


May  11,  1911. 


Chapter  X. 


THE  EUROPEAN  REVOLT. 

A VOICE  IN  THE  DESERT  AND  A WORLD’S  VISION. 

The  movement  which  effected  a revolution  in  the 
judicial  and  public  mind  of  England — repealing  the  Con- 
tagious Diseases  Acts^ — also  reached  out  to  the  continental 
nations  of  Europe.  An  influential  journal  described  the 
agencies  which  affected  this  change  in  England  as  “a 
network  of  social  and  religious  organizations.”^  The 
same  authority  tells  how  in  1874: 

“The  leaders  of  the  English  movement  became  aware 
that  their  familiar  opponents  at  home  were  only  the  advanced 
guard  of  a powerful  International  Medical  Congress,  which 
was  vehemently  demanding  an  international  organization 
of  immorality.  The  first  International  Medical  Congress  was 
held  in  Paris  in  1867.  The  grave  subject  before  us  occupied  a 
chief  place  in  its  deliberations,  but  a standing  order  of  the 
Congress  expressly  excluded  all  moral  considerations,  and  rigidly 
confined  readers  and  speakers  to  the  purely  physical  aspects  of 
the  question.  This  arbitrary  and  violent  attempt  to  separate  the 
Inseparable,  deprived  the  deliberations  of  the  Congress  of  nearly 
all  practical  value,  but  it  afforded  a striking  illustration  of  the 
narrow  and  defective  basis  on  which  specialists  are  ever  prone  to 
build  conclusions  as  dangerous  as  they  are  far-reaching.  The 
Paris  Congress  did  not  commit  itself  finally  to  any  definite  pro- 
posals, neither  did  the  second  International  Congress,  which  took 
place  at  Florence  in  1870.  It  was  then  resolved,  however,  that 
the  third  International  Congress,  to  be  held  at  Vienna  in  1873, 
should  prepare  a suggested  international  law  for  the  sanitary 
regulation  of  immorality.” 

*See  Chapter  III. 

*The  London  Quarterly,  July,  1876. 


276 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


There  was  a striking  contrast  in  the  deliverances  and 
conclusions  of  these  conferences  and  those  of  the  Brussels 
Conferences  of  1899  and  1902d  A result  of  the  former 
was  the  issuance  of  a manifesto,  officially  signed,  which 
contained  “the  syllabus  of  the  Infallible  Council  of  the 
medical  priesthood,”^  and  declared  that  “this  question 
belongs  essentially  to  the  medical  profession”  and  that 
the  administration  of  the  law  should  be  “in  the  hands  of 
the  central  government,  municipal  and  provincial  authori- 
ties being  unfit  to  carry  it  out.”^ 

If  the  reader  will  turn  to  Chapter  IV  of  this  volume 
he  may  see  that  at  the  Brussels  Conferences  government 
representatives,  police  officials  and  the  medical  profession 
all  advanced  wholly  and  absolutely  from  this  position. 

But  before  the  Vienna  Conference  “A  Voice  in  the 
Desert”  had  already  been  heard.  In  1872  Mrs.  Josephine 
E.  Butler,  whom  the  London  Quarterly  writer  described 
as  the  “Herald  of  the  great  Social  War,”  visited  Paris 
with  a view  to  break  the  spell  which  official  police  au- 
thority had  cast  upon  the  whole  continent,  and  to  arouse 
the  moral  conscience  on  the  subject. 

She  had  now  been  actively  leading  the  forces  in  Eng- 
land, as  the  head  of  the  Ladies’  National  Association, which, 
it  may  be  said,  was  the  mother  of  all  other  organizations 
aiming  at  a new  standard  of  the  public  conscience  and 
action  on  the  subject,  and  it  became  apparent  that  the 
system  of  license  or  regulation  must  be  faced,  understood 
and  attacked  at  the  roots.  To  Paris  therefore  she  went  for 
that  purpose. 

The  heads  of  police  departments  received  Mrs.  Butler 
with  a stare  of  amazement  and  treated  her  with  scant 


‘See  Chapter  IV. 

^London  Quarterly,  July,  1876. 


The  European  Revolt 


277 


courtesy;  nevertheless  she  succeeded  in  visiting  the  prison 
of  St.  Lazare — “the  first  person  who  has  'been  permitted 
to  reveal  some  of  the  secrets  of  this  modern  bastile.”  ^ 

Her  visit  to  M.  Lecour,  the  Prefect  of  the  “Police  des 
JMceurs,”  was  thus  described  by  Mrs.  Butler  in  a letter 
to  Sir  James  Stansfeld: 

“I  spent  a part  of  my  last  afternoon  In  Paris  at  the  Prefec- 
ture of  Police.  The  memory  of  that  interview  is  so  exceedingly 
painful  to  me  that  I feared  I should  be  unfitted  for  my  work  if 
I dwelt  upon  it.  I was  struck  by  the  grandeur  of  the  externals 
of  the  office,  and  by  the  evidence  of  the  irresponsibility  and 
despotic  sway  over  a large  class  of  the  people  possessed  by  the 
man  Lecour.  I ascended  a large  stone  staircase,  with  guards 
placed  at  intervals,  and  many  people  coming  and  going,  ap- 
parently desiring  audiences.  The  Prefect’s  outer  door  is  at  the 
top  of  the  staircase,  and  over  it,  in  conspicuous  letters,  are 
engraved  the  words,  "Arrests.  Service  of  Morals’’  (the  arrests 
being  of  women  only).  In  looking  at  these  words,  the  fact 
(though  I knew  it  before)  came  before  me  with  painful  vivid- 
ness, that  man,  in  this  nineteenth  century,  has  made  woman  his 
degraded  slave,  by  a decree  which  is  heralded  in  letters  of  gold, 
and  retains  her  in  slavery  by  a violent  despotism  which,  if  it 
were  applied  to  men,  would  soon  set  all  Paris,  and  not  merely  a 
few  of  its  buildings,  in  fiames.  The  phrase,  “Service  des 
Moeurs,"  is  the  most  impudent  proclamation  of  an  accepted  false- 
hood. Too  clearly  and  palpably  is  the  true  meaning  of  it,  “Serv- 
ice de  DebaucJie;’’  and  M.  Lecour’s  conversation  throughout 
showed  and  confirmed  most  powerfully  the  fact  (though  he  him- 
self may  be  blind  to  it)  that  it  is  immorality,  not  morality,  for 
which  his  office  makes  provision." 

From  France  Mrs.  Butler  went  to  Italy,  where  she 
visited  Genoa,  Eome,  Naples,  Florence,  Milan  and  Turin. 
“Her  noble  doctrine  found  a congenial  element  in  the 
new  life  throbbing  through  every  part  of  that  classic 


'Medical  Enquirer,  Liverpool,  November,  1876. 


278 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


land.  The  tender  soul  of  Mazzini  was  one  of  the  first  to 
hail  with  ecstasy  the  birth  of  a great  movement  against 
the  most  despicable  and  polluting  vice.  The  splendid  hu- 
manitarian instincts  of  Garibaldi  also  responded  to  the 
appeals  of  justice  and  mercy,  and  the  adhesion  of  the 
illustrious  Emancipator  carried  with  it  the  popular  voice 
of  Italy.  ’ ’ ^ 

Mrs.  Butler  also  went  to  Switzerland,  where  she  found 
powerful  allies  in  the  eloquence  of  Pere  Hyacinthe,  the 
learning  of  M.  J.  Hornung,  professor  of  jurisprudence  at 
the  University  of  Geneva,  and  the  saintly  infiuence  of  the 
venerable  Pastor  Borel,  who  had  been  engaged  for  many 
years  in  the  reclamation  of  fallen  women.  Pere  Hyacinthe 
gave  in  his  adhesion  in  the  following  terms: 

"Dear  Madam: — I return  to  my  house  deeply  moved  by  the 
words  which  we  have  heard  from  you.  One  feels  that  God  is 
with  you  in  this  heroic  crusade  against  what  you  have  so  well- 
named  ‘the  typical  crime,’  the  gigantic  iniquity  of  our  race.  God 
Is  with  you,  madam;  it  is  necessary  that  men  should  be  with 
you  also.  I beg  that  you  will  count  entirely  upon  my  weak  but 
sincere  services.” 

Mrs.  Butler’s  campaign  looked  towards  moral  conquest 
in  the  name  of  priceless  peace  and  purity.  In  1875  the 
International  Federation  for  the  Abolition  of  Government 
Regulation  of  Prostitution  was  formed  and  aggressive  work 
w'as  pushed  through  many  countries  with  great  vigor. 
From  this  beginning  of  a new  world’s  conflict  with  the 
social  evil  has  grown  organized  armies  in  many  nations. 

But  there  came  an  apparent  need  for  a new  call.  Lead- 
ers in  Great  Britain  and  throughout  Europe  were  passing 


’London  Quarterly,  July,  1876. 


The  European  Revolt 


279 


away.  When  in  the  course  of  the  present  year,  1914,  the 
writer  visited  England  the  last  of  the  prominent  persons 
who  led  the  movement  in  that  country,  Henry  J.  Wilson, 
M.  P.,  passed  away.  Mrs.  Butler,  Sir  Hareourt  Johnstone, 
M.  P. ; Sir  James  Stansfeld,  M.  P. ; Prof.  James  Stuart, 
M.  P. ; Dr.  J.  Birkbeck  Nevins,  William  T.  Stead,  and  a 
host  of  others  had  already  gone. 

Among  those  who  entered  the  service  in  the  ’70s  was 
one  who  has  become  a venerable  and  honored  leader,  Wil- 
liam Alexander  Coote. 

A great  change  in  the  attitude  of  good  men  and  women 
had  been  brought  about  by  the  movement  thus  far  carried 
forward.  The  advocates  of  regulation  and  license  were  no 
longer  in  possession  of  the  field.  Everywhere  the  medical 
world  was  changing  its  tone  and  teaching,  the  police  au- 
thorities were  no  longer  sure  of  their  method,  and  the 
clergy,  educators  and  the  press  all  joined  in  declaring  that 
this  subject  could  not  be  treated  apart  from  the  moral 
questions  involved. 

But  the  traffickers  in  womanhood  had  not  been  idle. 
They  found  new  means  of  enslaving  girls,  new  methods 
of  conducting  their  infamous  business  and  new  markets 
for  their  slaves.  The  so-called  “white  slavery”  became  a 
world-wide  business,  with  agents  in  more  or  less  organized 
relations  everywhere. 

A World’s  Vision. 

In  what  measure  mighty  forces  for  human  good  have 
been  set  in  motion  through  the  agency  of  those  dreams 
which  occasionally  come  as  messengers  of  God  calling  to 
new  duty  and  sacrifice  “and  look  like  heralds  of  eternity” 
no  recorder  has  told  us.  We  think  of  the  visions  of  Ezekiel, 
of  Daniel,  of  John,  and  others,  such  as  John  Bunyan  or  the 


280 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


more  martial  and  insistent  dream  of  Jeanne  d’Arc.  Why 
may  we  not  record  the  visions  of  Josephine  Butler  and 
William  Alexander  Coote  as  divine  messengers,  calling  to 
new  endeavor  and  sacrifice?  To  a friend  Mrs.  Butler 
wrote  in  those  early  days  of  her  consecration: 

“As  we  sat,  during  these  calm  silences  which  I so  much  love 
in  Friends’  Meetings,  when  God  seems  even  more  present  than 
when  any  voice  of  prayer  is  breaking  the  hushed  stillness,  I did 
not  think  any  more  of  the  cold  winter,  long  journeys,  cynical 
opposition,  and  many  difficulties  I knew  I was  going  to  meet.  I 
knew  that  God  is  true,  and  that  certainly  I should  be  able  to 
trample  on  the  lion  and  adder.  My  thoughts  were  carried  far 
beyond  this  near  future,  and  a vista  seemed  to  rise  before  me 
of  the  years  to  come,  of  some  great  and  marvelous  and  beautiful 
manifestation  of  the  power  of  God — of  gathering  hosts— an  ex- 
ceeding great  army — before  whom  will  melt  away  the  monstrous 
wickedness  which  men  believe  to  be  indestructible.” 

And  Mr.  Coote  tells  us  in  a charming  little  volume  of 
the  vision  which  led  him  forth  in  a missionary  journey, 
the  purpose  of  which  was  to  open  the  way  to  united,  in- 
ternational, world-wide  work  that  would  grapple  with  this 
evil  with  an  efficient  and  conquering  force.  He  writes : 

“In  1898,  while  I was  revising  the  warning  to  young  women 
traveling  abroad,  the  utter  hopelessness  of  all  our  methods  came 
over  me  with  a kind  of  physical  oppressiveness  which,  reacting 
upon  the  mind,  overwhelmed  me  with  a bitterness  of  soul,  and 
I cried  out  in  despair,  ‘How  long,  0 Lord,  how  long?’  Falling, 
rather  than  leaning,  back  in  my  chair,  I fell  into  a kind  of 
reverie.  Whether  it  was  a Divine  Vision,  or  a day-dream  inspired 
from  on  high,  I know  not.  Of  its  intensity  and  reality  I had 
not,  and  never  have  had,  the  slightest  doubt.  The  Vision  was 
solemnly  and  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind.  It  had  not 
lasted  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  but  during  that  time 
the  ideas  came  as  suggestions,  and  were  by  me  transmitted  to 
paper.  They  were  these  and  w’ere  read  clearly  by  me  in  my 
Vision:  ‘That  I should  go  to  every  capital  of  Europe.  Find 


The  European  Revolt  281 

some  leading  person  in  each  and  tell  him  the  horrors  of  the 
White  Slave  Traffic.  Ask  him  to  call  together  the  leading  men 
and  women  and  the  government  officials,  with  a view  to  my 
addressing  them  on  the  matter,  the  objects  being: 

“‘To  form  a National  Committee  to  deal  with  the  question 
from  a national  and  international  point  of  view. 

“ ‘To  arouse  a strong  public  opinion  throughout  Europe  con- 
cerning this  traffic. 

“ ‘To  hold  an  International  Congress  in  London  on  the 
subject. 

“ ‘From  the  Congress  to  approach  the  European  Govern- 
ments, asking  them  to  hold  an  official  conference  to  deal  with 
the  question  from  an  international  point  of  view. 

“ ‘To  make  the  National  Committees  the  means  in  the  differ- 
ent countries  of  bringing  all  this  to  pass.’ 

“Such  was  the  message  conveyed  to  me  clearly  and  distinctly 
and  I had  no  difficulty  in  immediately  committing  it  to  paper. 
Having  read  and  re-read  it,  I was  overwhelmed  with  the  stupen- 
dous nature  of  the  work  thus  outlined,  and  with  my  own  total 
unfitness,  from  every  point  of  view  to  undertake  it.  Neverthe- 
less, the  conviction  grew  and  strengthened  that  if  God  would 
make  the  way  clear,  I was  willing  and  ready  to  go.”' 

Mr.  Coote  tells  how  his  hopes  were  dampened  when  the 
necessary  £200  was  denied  him  from  the  only  source  he 
thought  possible  and  how  it  came  shortly  after  in  a letter 
from  a wholly  unexpected  quarter.  ‘ ‘ I shall  never  forget 
the  effeet  of  this  letter  upon  me,”  he  says.  “I  had  been 
much  solemnized  by  the  Vision,  but  the  sight  of  the  cheque 
filled  me  with  awe-inspiring  intensity.” 

Then  follows  a stirring  story  of  his  visit  to  Germany, 
Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Norway,  Russia,  Belgium, 
France,  Switzerland,  Austria,  Italy,  Spain,  Bavaria,  Egypt, 
South  Africa,  and  correspondence  with  the  United  States 
and  the  Argentine  Republic.  In  all  of  these  places  Mr. 
Coote  was  able  to  find  kindred  spirits  in  influential  circles 

'“A  Vision  and  Its  Fulfillment,”  3s.  6d. 


282 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


and  his  beautiful  little  volume  containing  the  story  is 
embellished  with  excellent  portraits  of  more  than  sixty  of 
them.  In  most  of  the  countries,  too,  a National  Committee 
or  Vigilance  Association  was  formed,  and  at  the  first  in- 
ternational congress  held  in  London  in  1899  an  Interna- 
tional Bureau  was  organized  in  London. 

Conferences  followed  in  Paris  in  1902  and  in  1910, 
and  a third  one  in  Vienna  October  5-7,  1909.  National 
committees  were  appointed  representing  seventeen  coun- 
tries. 

The  fulfilling  of  this  vision  reached  its  highest  point 
in  the  great  International  Congress  held  in  London  June 
30  to  July  4,  1913.  The  influential  character  of  its  mem- 
bers and  adherents  marked  a surprising  indication  of 
interest  among  the  most  distinguished  of  governing  powers 
as  well  as  of  political,  clerical  and  social  circles  from  all 
parts  of  the  world. 

The  Earl  of  Aberdeen  was  the  President,  who  was 
supported  by  153  “Presidents  of  Honor, including  five 
Royal  personages.  Ambassadors  for  France,  Russia,  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, Spain,  Italy,  Germany  and  the  United 
States. 

Members  and  adherents,  whose  names  are  published 
in  the  Report,  which  is  a volume  of  368  pages,’  were  in 
attendance  from  the  following  countries: 

Argentine  Republic,  3;  Australia,  1;  Austria,  3;  Belgium,  9; 
Brazil,  1;  Canada,  16;  Chili,  1;  China,  1;  Denmark,  3;  Egypt, 
7;  France,  17;  Germany,  35;  Great  Britain,  345;  Holland,  8; 
Hungary,  5;  Italy,  2;  Norway,  4;  Portugal,  1;  Russia,  13;  South 
Africa,  1;  Spain,  4;  Sweden,  4;  Switzerland,  14;  United  States,  9. 

“Vigilance,”  the  organ  of  the  American  Vigilance  As- 
sociation, published  in  September,  1913,  reported  this  con- 


‘Fifth  International  Congress — White  Slave  Traffic. 


The  European  Revolt 


283 


gress  at  length  through  Dr.  0.  E.  Janney  of  Baltimore, 
who  was  one  of  its  representatives,  and  remarked  edi- 
torially : 

“Perhaps  never  has  there  been  a movement,  seeking  the 
moral  uplift  of  the  masses,  which  has  achieved  such  an  endorse- 
ment of  radical  reform  as  we  find  in  the  personnel  of  the  great 
International  Congress  held  in  London  in  July. 

“When  in  1872  the  ‘Voice  of  the  Desert’  cried  aloud  to  the 
women  of  France,  no  one  dreamed  that  within  forty  years  after. 
Emperors,  Kings,  Courtiers,  and  high  ecclesiastical  dignitaries 
of  Europe  would  assemble,  in  person  or  by  proxy,  in  one  of  the 
most  conservative  and  privileged  halls  of  the  world,  as  an  answer 
to  that  appeal. 

“Twenty-four  countries  were  represented — thirteen  of  which 
sent  government-appointed  delegates,  and  Royal  heads  took  a 
direct  interest  in  the  proceedings. 

“The  Duchess  of  Albany  gave  a reception  to  the  delegates 
when  the  Lord  Chamberlain  read  the  following  message  from 
King  George  of  England: 

“ ‘His  Majesty  bids  to  each  and  all  the  delegates  a cordial 
and  hearty  welcome  to  England.  The  King  notes  with  particular 
satisfaction  that  these  include  representatives  from  almost  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  His  Majesty  is  glad  that  they  will  be  able 
to  visit  Windsor  Castle  during  this  week. 

“ ‘His  Majesty  trusts  that,  under  Divine  Providence,  the 
labors  of  the  delegates  of  this  Congress  will  be  greatly  blessed 
and  aided,  and  desires  to  give  expression  to  his  true  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  and  that  of  the  Queen  in  the  international  work  for 
the  protection  of  young  womanhood. 

“ ‘The  King  further  desires  to  congratulate  the  National 
Vigilance  Association  and  the  International  Bureau  for  the  Sup- 
pression of  the  White  Slave  Traffic  in  the  success  hitherto 
achieved,  and  bids  them  go  forward  with  courage  and  energy.’ 

“The  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  President  of  the  United 
States  also  sent  messages  manifesting  their  interest. 

“The  deliberations  of  the  Congress  covered  many  questions 
and  the  resolutions  adopted  prove  that  each  subject  wag  care- 
fully and  profoundly  studied.’’ 


284 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Never  did  an  assembly  of  men  and  women  contemplate 
a more  essential  and  far-reaching  crusade  than  this.  As 
the  distinguished  President  of  the  Congress  remarked  in 
his  opening  address,  “No  future  historian  of  our  time  will 
be  able  to  question  the  need  and  the  work  of  this  crusade, 
for  it  depends  not  on  opinion,  or  creed,  or  policy,  but 
upon  the  eternal  distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  and 
the  sacred  claims  of  justice  and  humanity.” 

And  in  the  valediction,  which  closed  the  Congress  on 
its  fifth  day,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  said:  “We  have 
been  pointed  to  it  (a  new  hope)  by  a noble  woman.'  ‘A 
New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient  Evil’ — that  has  been  the 
motto  which  she  struck.  As  never  before  perhaps,  we  see 
today  in  extent  and  bulk  and  detail  how  the  ancient  evil 
works;  what  deviltries  it  prompts,  and  sets  loose  and  em- 
ploys. The  traffic,  what  is  it?  It  is  the  ‘Beast’  arming 
itself  with  all  the  resources,  the  facilities,  the  appliances, 
the  locomotion,  and  the  secrecies  of  modern  civilization. 
But  in  this  same  modern  civilization,  in  the  great  demo- 
cratic peoples,  whatever  the  form  of  their  constitution — 
in  the  great  modern  peoples  there  are,  thank  God,  other 
things  astir.  There  is  a new  sense,  w trust,  of  the  true 
honor,  the  sacredness  of  human  life  in  man  and  woman — 
a new  conscience.  The  evil  and  the  conscience — they  con- 
front one  another.  Out  of  slave  emancipation  an  abolition- 
ist crusade  in  the  early  days  of  the  last  century  arose,  and 
there  sprang  up  a great  impulse  of  human  liberty,  for 
the  results  of  which  we  have  got  today  still  to  contend, 
lest  they  slip  through  our  fingers.  But  still  that  impulse 
was  given,  and  we  feel  it  vibrating  through  the  European 
and  American  body  politic  ever  since.” 


’Miss  Jane  Addams. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


COMMERCE  AND  CONSCIENCE. 

It  may  yet  be  ages  before  Commerce  can  claim  to  be 
standing  straight  up  under  the  golden  rule.  In  almost 
every  department  of  business  selfishness  governs.  “It  is 
probably  fair  to  say  that  the  great  business  world  is  not 
appreciably  influenced  in  its  daily  struggles  by  the  con- 
sciouness  that  it  exists  to  serve  mankind.”^  The  ethical 
standard  is  still  so  generally  low  that  it  accepts  the  rule 
that  “he  who  can  get  should  have.”  A German  observer 
who  is  also  a great  scholar,  observes  that  the  Ameri- 
cans, from  oldest  to  youngest,  hurl  themselves  into  the 
chase  of  the  dollar.^  Nevertheless  the  truth  is  begin- 
ning to  possess  us  that  the  successful  man  is  not  neces- 
sarily he  who  gathers  the  most  money.  To  have  accumu- 
lated millions  is  not  a sure  testimonial  of  the  worth  of 
a citizen. 

The  Commerce  of  a nation  cannot  long  lag  behind  its 
conscience.  Business  must  measure  up  to  something  be- 
sides a cash  balance.  That  is  why  saloon  keepers  are  not 
now  in  the  class  of  reputable  business  men.  There  is  a 
growing  feeling  too  that  brewers,  as  the  real  saloon 
keepers,  must  be  classed  with  saloon  keepers  who  are 
their  agents. 

The  business  of  vice-mongers  and  white  slavers  have 
never  been  in  good  repute  in  this  country.  The  herd  is 
now  generally  regarded  with  contempt,  as  beasts  and  birds 

'“Christianity  and  The  Social  Crises.”  Rauschenbnsch. 

®“The  Approach  to  the  Social  Question.”  Peabody. 


286 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


of  prey,  feasting  on  the  carcasses  of  women, — hanging  on 
to  commerce,  as  rats  infest  a noble  ship. 

But  Commerce  too  often  accepts  the  alliance  of 
questionable  interests,  especially  when  the  profits  are  large. 
According  to  the  Chicago  Vice  Commission  the  profits 
of  prostitution  in  that  city  are  more  than  fifteen  million 
dollars  annually  and  estimating  a similar  amount  for  other 
cities  proportionately,  the  nation’s  sum  total  reaches  to 
an  incalculable  sum. 

Every  dollar  of  this  is  stained  with  dishonor  and 
blood,  and  certain  business  interests  which  claim  to  be 
honorable  and  respectable  are  in  complicity  with  it. 

In  the  British  House  of  Commons,  in  1834,  a “Com- 
mittee on  Drink”  stated  that  at  a dinner  party  where  the 
guests  were  nearly  all  distillers,  one  of  them  gave  this 
toast: — “The  distillers’  best  friend,  the  poor  prostitutes  of 
London.”^ 

The  Vice  Commission  of  Chicago  reported  that  “in- 
formation has  been  gathered  regarding  445  saloons  in 
different  parts  of  the  city.  The  investigators  have 
counted  929  unescorted  women  in  these  saloons,  who  by 
their  actions  and  conversations  were  believed  to  be 
prostitutes.  In  fact  they  were  solicited  by  more  than  236 
womep  in  236  different  saloons,  all  of  whom,  with  the 
exception  of  98,  solicited  for  rooms,  ‘hotels’,  and  houses 
of  prostitution  over  the  saloon.” 

Yet  distillers  and  brewers  are  members  of  Associations 
of  Commerce  and  Boards  of  Trade,  and,  as  such,  exercise 
their  infiuence  against  aggressive  efforts  to  suppress  the 
house  of  shame  and  judging  by  certain  facts  known  to  us, 
they  have  prevented  the  Vigilance  Association  in  Chicago 


'“Foundation  of  Death.’’  Axel  Gustafson. 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


287 


from  obtaining  the  endorsement  of  the  Association  of 
Commerce  Committees. 

Sometimes  other  traders,  such  as  druggists,  and  even 
physicians,  lend  themselves  to  the  supply  of  deadly  drugs 
to  the  keepers  of  dens.  The  Chicago  Vice  Commission 
reports  that--“In  a canvass  of  drug  stores  outside  the 
restricted  district  it  was  found  that  they  do  not  sell  more 
than  three  drams  of  cocaine  and  four  ounces  of  morphine 
each  month.  On  the  other  hand  the  four  drug  stores 
within  this  district  sell  at  least  four  pounds  of  morphine 
and  six  ounces  of  cocaine  each  month.” 

“There  are  four  druggists,”  the  report  says,  “whose 
method  of  catering  to  the  prostitutes  is  to  send  clerks  to 
their  respective  customers  in  the  various  houses  of 
prostitution  to  solicit  orders,  including  cocaine  and  mor- 
phine.” Yet  these  druggists  remain  as  members  of  the 
honored,  body  of  pharmacists. 

The  report  also  says,  “The  physician,  the  most  im- 
portant element  in  the  sale  of  cocaine,  disobeys  the  law 
more  openly  than  the  druggist.  It  has  been  claimed  that 
practically  all  physicians  who  examine  inmates  in  houses 
of  ill-fame  dispense  cocaine  and  morphine.  Yet  these 
physicians  are  members  of  the  medical  profession  of  the 
state. 

Many  property  owners  and  real  estate  agents  are 
guilty  of  direct  complicity  with  this  business.  Not  only 
do  they  knowingly  rent  houses  for  purposes  of  prostitution, 
but  they  share  the  plunder  of  it  by  renting  at  a higher 
price  than  the  same  property  would  bring  for  any 
honorable  business. 

Owners  of  city  property  are  verily  guilty  in  this 
matter.  Lists  of  names  have  been  published  in  several 


288 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


cities  showing  that  the  owners  of  certain  houses  and  flats 
which  profit  by  the  renting  at  exorbitant  rents  are  often 
rich  citizens,  sometimes  in  high  social  standing,  and  some- 
times with  church  affiliation.  Such  a list  of  more  than 
100  persons  startled  Chicago  when  in  W.  T.  Stead  pub- 
lished “If  Christ  Came  to  Chicago.”^ 

The  Chicago  Vice  Commission  reported  in  1910,  “The 
Commission  has  secured  a large  list  of  owners  of  houses 
where  prostitution  is  openly  practiced.  In  some  instances 
these  owners  are  vile  and  abandoned  men  who  make  a busi- 
ness of  exploiting  these  unfortunate  women.  And  side  by 
side  with  these  men,  ignorant  and  vile,  stand  so-called 
respectable  citizens  who  are  also  sharing  in  the  increased 
values  from  property  used  to  extend  the  business  of  pros- 
tiution.  Indeed  evidence  has  been  produced  tending  to 
show  that  a highly  honored  and  respectable  company,  in 
whose  hands  respectable  citzens  entrust  their  money,  has 
apparently  assumed  the  trusteeship  of  four  of  the  vilest 
houses  of  ill-fame  in  the  restricted  district. 

Another  disgraceful  fact  is  that  some  ostensibly  respect- 
able women  are  owners  or  have  control  of  property  where 
prostitution  is  practiced. 

Again  “several  wealthy  and  prominent  business  men, 
whose  advice  is  sought  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  ci^dc 
welfare  and  development  of  Chicago,  are  leasing  their 

houses  on  street  and  avenue  for  this  business. 

One  of  these  men  has  six  houses  in  a part  of  the  district 

'Mr.  Stead  pointed  out  that  “It  is  only  just  to  remember 
that  persons  who  pay  taxes  as  agents  for  property  have  often  no 
means  of  controlling  the  disposition  of  that  property.  It  is  also 
well  to  state  that  in  many  cases  the  owners  of  the  houses  are 
only  owners  of  the  ground  on  which  the  houses  stand,  with  next 
to  no  power  of  control  over  the  tenants  of  the  houses  built  on 
their  land.  In  other  cases  they  have  inherited  the  property  and 
do  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.” 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


289 


where  the  most  disgusting  and  flagrant  violations  of  the 
law  and  police  rules  occur.  Young  men  hardly  out  of  their 
teens  have  been  seen  reeling  in  an  intoxicated  condition 
from  one  of  these  houses  to  the  other.  One  Saturday 
night  it  was  all  one  officer  could  do  to  keep  a crowd  of 
drunken  young  men  moving  and  prevent  fights  on  the 
streets.  In  one  instance  he  brutally  kicked  a young  fellow 
and  shoved  him  into  the  street.  In  another  instance,  at 
the  request  of  the  keeper  of  one  of  these  low  resorts,  the 
officer  entered  her  house  and  threw  a drunken  young  man 
out  on  the  street,  menacing  him  with  his  club.” 

More  recently  still  the  “Committee  of  Fifteen”  of 
Chicago  has  published  lists  in  the  city  newspapers  of 
owners  of  buildings  rented  as  resorts  and  vice  dens. 

Mr.  George  Kneeland  gives  an  illustration  of  the 
agencies  employed  by  owners  in  New  York.  He  tells  of 
two  owners  of  a house  of  ill-fame  in  West  Twenty-eighth 
street,  who  on  June  26,  1912,  sought  to  rent  a house  on 
West  Twenty-ninth  street,  and  succeeded  by  the  payment 
of  a rental  of  $2,000  a year.  Mr.  Kneeland  furnishes  the 
following  statement  of  the  methods  of  procedure:  “In 
the  renting  of  premises  for  purposes  of  prostitution 
various  devices  are  employed  to  protect  agent  and  owner, 
despite  the  fact  that  there  is  an  overwhelming  probability 
that  in  most  cases  both  possess,  from  the  outset,  guilty 
knowledge  of  the  facts.  In  some  places,  direct  respon- 
sibility is  avoided  through  renting  empty  apartments  to 
janitors  for  a rental  ranging  from  $40  to  $50  a month. 
The  janitor  furnishes  these  apartments  on  the  installment 
plan  and  sublets  them  to  prostitutes  at  the  rate  of  $15 
to  $18  per  week.  Then,  in  addition,  he  often  receives 
from  $3  to  $5  per  week  to  “look  away,”  as  he  terms  it. 


290 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


If  the  respectable  families  do  not  like  it  they  may  move; 
and  many  of  them  do  moved 

The  real  estate  and  renting  agencies,  with  exceptions, 
have  not  hesitated  to  rent  property  for  prostitution  where 
a larger  rental  could  be  obtained  thereby.  “In  New  York 
during  the  month  of  February,  1912,  a woman  investigator 
visited  122  real  estate  agents  for  the  alleged  purpose  of 
renting  an  apartment  for  immoral  purposes.  In  each  case 
the  investigator  endeavored  to  convey  to  the  agent  thd 
object  for  which  the  apartment  was  ostensibly  desired. 
Of  the  122  agents  visited,  only  17  refused  outright  to  be 
parties  to  the  transaction.  A few  of  these  were  indignant, 
others  said  they  had  to  be  careful,  and  still  others  said  the 
owners  of  the  property  were  exceedingly  strict.  Sixty- 
seven  agents  agreed  to  rent  certain  apartments  for  this  pur- 
pose and  gave  the  investigator  the  addresses  of  98  separ- 
ate apartments  where  she  could  conduct  the  proposed 
business.  ’ 

“In  Chicago  a field  investigation  was  made  in  order 
to  determine  whether  or  no  fiats  and  houses  can  be 
leased  from  real  estate  agents  for  immoral  purposes.  Dur- 
ing the  month  of  October  investigator  visited  65  real  estate 
agents  and  owners,  most  of  whom  were  located  in  res- 
idential sections  of  the  city,  and  in  44  instances  they 
offered  to  rent  rooms  and  flats.  In  each  instance  the 
investigator  stated  she  wanted  to  rent  the  premises  for 
a ‘sporting  house.’ 

Hotel  keepers  doubtless  often  find  it  difficult  or  im- 
possible, to  protect  themselves  wholly  from  the  commerce 
of  vice,  but  there  are,  in  every  city,  many  who  distinctly 
cater  to  it,  while  some  make  special  provision  for  it. 

'Commercialized  Prostitution  in  New  York,  page  115. 

'The  Social  Evil  in  Chicago,  page  89. 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


291 


Mr.  Kneeland  states  that  during  the  investigation  in 
1912,  “103  hotels  were  found  which  are  classed  as  being 
assignation  places,  disorderly  or  suspicious.  Evidence  was 
discovered  which  proved  that  habitual  prostitutes  were 
openly  soliciting  men  on  the  street  and  elsewhere  to  go 
to  65  of  these  hotels  for  immoral  purposes.  A woman 
investigator  discovered  25  additional  hotels  where  pros- 
titutes declared  they  could  freely  take  customers  or  have 
them  openly  visit  their  apartments  or  rooms.  This  gives 
a total  of  90  different  hotels  in  Manhattan  which  may  be 
classified  as  ‘ disorderly.  ’ In  addition  to  these,  seven 
different  hotels  were  discovered  which  prostitutes  claimed 
to  he  able  to  use  for  immoral  purposes,  though  admitting 
that  they  had  to  be  careful  not  to  frequent  them  too 
often. 

The  Syracuse  Moral  Survey  Committee  reports  that 
“32  disorderly  hotels  were  counted  and  investigated  in 
that  city.” 

The  Vice  Commission  of  Philadelphia  reports  that 
“Investigation  was  made  of  62  disorderly  hotels.  The 
investigatigators  were  solicited  by  46  prostitutes  to  enter 
these  hotels  for  immoral  purposes ; all,  or  practically  all, 
these  hotels  hold  liquor  licenses,  and  knowledge  of  their 
existence  is  equally  accessible  to  the  police  as  it  was  to 
our  investigators.”^ 

Telegraph  and  telephone  companies  are  important  arms 
of  public  service  who  must  free  themselves  of  all  profitable 
relations  with  this  evil  if  they  would  continue  to  hold  the 
confidence  and  support  of  the  public.  The  night  messenger 


^Commercialized  Prostitution  in  New  York,  page  35. 

’The  record  shows  that  between  Sept.  22  and  Oct.  5,  67  en- 
tries of  this  kind  were  made  in  the  hotel  register. 


292 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


service  of  the  telegraph  companies  make  panders  of  boys, 
employing  them  in  connection  with  houses  of  ill-fame: 

Young  boys  serve  as  messengers,  and  are  admitted  and 
sent  into  the  worst  places. 

“The  testimony  before  us  on  this  question  Is  unfit  for  publi- 
cation, and  shows  the  utter  demoralization  of  boys  of  tender 
age.  The  telegraph  companies  which  employ  these  little  messen- 
gers and  allow  this  sort  of  thing  to  go  on  are  deserving  of  the 
severest  censure.  It  Is  no  answer  to  say  that  their  ofiBcers  do 
not  know  the  facts;  they  must  know  them,  or  if  they  are  in 
Ignorance  of  them,  they  are  purposely  ignorant.  We  tell  them 
that  their  messengers  are  going  into  places  of  vice  and  crime; 
that  their  morals  are  being  ruined  and  their  bodies  diseased, 
and  it  Is  their  duty  to  stop  it.  It  may  mean  less  profit  from 
messenger  service,  but,  as  things  stand  today,  these  companies 
are  allowing  these  boys  to  be  morally  ruined  and  to  contract 
foul  diseases,  as  appears  from  the  boys’  own  testimony  in  our 
possession,  in  order  that  these  companies  may  earn  money.  The 
pending  Child  Labor  Bill,  if  passed  and  enforced,  will  protect 
them  hereafter,  but  it  will  not  extenuate  or  excuse  the  guilt  of 
those  who,  for  the  sake  of  business,  have  permitted  the  use  of 
these  children  in  so  nefarious  a trade.’’* * 

“The Telegraph  Company  occupies  an  office  at , 

which  is  their  nearest  branch  office  to  one  of  the  restricted  districts. 
There  are  about  eight  messenger  boys  employed  here,  ranging 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  majority  of  these 
boys  are  colored.  These  messengers  are  called  upon  to  work  at 
all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  As  part  of  their  duties  they 
answer  calls  from  prostitutes,  to  purchase  lunch  at  nearby  res- 
taurants, or  to  go  to  the  drug  stores  to  purchase  drugs  and 
various  articles.  In  this  way  the  messenger  becomes  an  impor- 
tant link  in  the  system  whereby  cocaine  and  various  other  drugs 
used  by  habitues  are  secured  by  them.’’* 

Many  saloons  are  in  direct  partnership  with  the  evil 
and  such  can  only  be  dealt  with  by  the  nemesis  of  law 
as  houses  of  ill-fame. 

‘The  Vice  Commission  of  Philadelphia,  page  12. 

*The  Social  Evil  in  Chicago,  page  243. 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


293 


“The  Commission  has  found  in  its  investigation  that 
the  most  dangerous  immoral  influence,  and  the  most  im- 
portant financial  interest,  outside  of  the  business  of  pros- 
titution as  carried  on  in  houses,  is  the  disorderly  saloons. 
The  proprietors  of  these  places  are  using  prostitutes  as  an 
adjunct  to  the  sale  of  beer  and  liquor,  and  are  allowing 
them  to  openly  solicit  for  immoral  purposes  in  their  rear 
rooms.  This  is  done  in  spite  of  the  constant  statements 
of  the  brewers  and  wholesale  liquor  dealers  that  they  are 
against  the  use  of  prostitutes  in  saloons  which  they  supply. ' ’ 

For  commercial  gain,  amusement  houses  and  theatres 
sometimes  ally  themselves  with  the  social  evil,  and  these 
are  responsible  not  only  for  the  downfall  of  girls,  but 
sometimes,  are  actual  participants  in  the  evil.  There  is 
much  evidence  of  this  in  the  reports  of  the  various 
Vice  Commissions  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Kansas  City, 
Philadelphia,  etc. 

It  must  be  added  that  the  abolition  of  the  brothel  means 
also  the  suppression  of  the  shady  saloon.  Intoxicating 
liquors  sold  in  saloons,  to  which  is  annexed  the  rooming 
house  or  back  parlor,  are  the  most  prolific  and  deadly  of  all 
the  agencies  employed  to  capture  slaves  for  the  market, 
to  deaden  their  moral  sense  and  bind  them  down.  These 
saloons  are  not  separate  from,  but  a part  of  the  infernal 
traffic.  They  are  partners  in  the  business,  and  sharers 
in  the  plunder.  They  are  joint  murderers  with  the  whole 
gang  of  pimps,  panders  and  slave  traders. 

“The  commission  has  the  addresses  of  110  different 
cafes  and  saloons  in  the  State  habitually  frequented  by 
prostitutes  for  the  purpose  of  securing  customers.  The 
investigators  have  actually  counted  6,649  escorted  or  un- 
escorted women  in  these  places,  who,  by  the  frequency  of 
their  presence,  their  actions,  conversation  and  dress,  were 


294 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


believed  to  be  prostitutes.  In  fact,  the  investigators  have 
been  either  openly  or  secretly  solicited  in  these  places  by  171 
different  prostitutes  to  go  with  them  to  various  hotels, 
apartments  or  furnished  rooms,  etc.,  for  immoral  purposes. 

These  immoral  cafes  and  saloons  are  also  the  favorite 
resorts  of  pimps  and  procurers,  well-known  thieves,  piek- 
pockest  and  ex-criminals. 

Many  of  these  immoral  cafes  and  saloons  are  located  in 
densely  populated  tenement-house  districts,  subjecting  the 
honest  poor  to  the  most  evil  influences.” — Massachusetts 
Commission,  Feb.,  1914. 

But  what  is  to  be  said  of  brewers  and  distillers  who 
supply  houses  of  ill-fame  with  beer  and  liquors,  well 
knowing  that  these  drinks  are  used  as  part  of  the  horrible 
business  and  that  exorbitant  prices  are  charged  for  them 
in  such  resorts? 

“A  saloon  keeper  of  a disreputable  resort  in  South  Chicago 
declared  that  certain  brewers  are  trying  to  buy  up  the  licenses 
of  similar  resorts  in  that  vicinity,  offering  $1,500  for  the  $1,000 
licenses.  In  one  instance  it  was  reported  that  a certain  brewery 
paid  $1,700  for  such  a license.  Only  recently  a representative 
from  a well  known  brewery  has  purchased  four  licenses  from 
owners  of  saloons  in  the  South  Chicago  vice  district.  The  price 
paid  for  one  of  these  licenses  was  $1,800.  The  reason  these 
licenses  were  sold,  it  is  said,  was  because  of  the  agitation  against 
the  sale  of  beer  in  houses  of  prostitution.  When  things  were 
running  smoothly  in  the  houses  these  licenses  could  not  be 
purchased  for  $5,000. 

The  Brewers’  Exchange,  which  is  composed  of  90  per  cent, 
of  the  brewing  companies  in  Chicago,  has  repeatedly  affirmed 
that  it  is  absolutely  opposed  to  the  sale  of  liquor  in  connection 
with  prostitution. 

An  investigation  with  reference  to  236  disorderly  saloons 
shows  that  representatives  of  fourteen  brewing  companies  are 
on  the  surety  bonds  for  sixty-three  of  these  saloons. 

In  addition  there  are  a number  of  individuals  on  the  surety 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


295 


bonds  for  other  disorderly  saloons  who  are  also  connected  with 
brewing  companies  but  are  not  given  as  being  representatives.’” 
For  enormous  profits  made  by  selling  beer  and  other  liquors  in 
resorts  see  page  111  of  same  reports. 

The  time  has  surely  come  when  Commercial  Associa- 
tions, Clubs  and  Boards  of  Trade  should  set  up  a standard 
of  membership  of  their  respective  bodies  which  would 
exclude  all  who  are  in  complicity  with  this  business. 

No  business  on  earth— no  practices,  even  of  barbarism, 
has  so  deadly  an  effect  upon  the  moral  sense  as  this.  The 
death  of  all  consciousness  of  the  inveterate  evil,  resulting 
from  the  toleration  or  license  of  vice,  as  a business  or 
privilege,  is  illustrated  by  letters  published  a number  of 
years  ago  by  Dr.  Parent  Duchatelet  of  Paris. 

A woman  eighty  years  of  age  writes  to  the  Prefect 
of  Police  of  Paris  asking  that  he  will  grant  her  daughter 
and  granddaughter  licenses  to  keep  a Maison  de  tolerance 
in  the  following  terms: 

“Eighty  years  of  age  and  the  mother  of  a large  family,  I 
Implore,  M.  le  Prefect,  your  help  and  protection.  You,  the  father 
of  the  poor,  the  support  of  the  widow  and  orphan,  the  prop  of 
the  afiBicted,  the  asylum  of  the  wretched,  you  will  surely  not  re- 
fuse my  request.  At  such  an  advanced  age,  and  feeling  myself 
on  the  point  of  surrendering  myself  to  God,  and  appearing  in 
the  presence  of  my  Creator,  it  is  my  duty  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  my  children,  and  to  hand  down  to  them  the  means  of 
livelihood.’’* 

Two  others  write,  asking  a license  as  a favor,  in  the 
following  terms : 

“M.  le  Prefect: — I have  only  you  as  a resource  to  lean  upon; 
burdened  with  a family  of  tender  years,  I implore  you  not  to  re- 
fuse me  an  honest  means  of  livelihood,  and  of  bringing  up  my 
children.  Deprive  me  not,  M.  le  Prefect,  of  a consolation  of 
which  an  aflHicted  mother  stands  in  so  great  need.’’* 


296 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“M.  le  Prefect: — Mdlle.  D has  the  honor  to  explain  to 

you  that  cruel  reverses  of  fortune,  that  would  have  driven  her  to 
the  final  act  of  despair,  if  she  had  not  been  sustained  by  a sen- 
timent of  religion  from  parting  with  that  which  comes  from 
above.  Her  grave  and  circumspect  conduct,  the  care  she  has 
taken  of  her  father  and  mother,  and  that  she  lavishes  on  her 
children,  have  won  for  her  the  esteem  of  the  better  class  of 
people;  being  unable  to  bring  herself  to  work,  she  desires  to  be 
authorized  to  receive  at  her  house  six  women,”  etc.,  etc.* 

Here  is  a translation  of  a certificate  of  character  to  a 
keeper  of  a brothel  signed  by  twenty  merchants  of  the 
neighborhood.  It  was  published  in  L ’Avenir  des  Femmes : 

“We  the  undersigned  proprietoires  and  merchants  of  the 
Boulevard  de  Beleville,  declare  Madame  Louise  Joly,  dwelling  in 
the  Boulevard  de  la  Chapelle,  has  kept  a Maison  de  Tolerance 
since  1849,  that  many  of  us  have  known  her  ever  since  that 
time,  and  that  she  has  gained  the  esteem  of  each  of  us  through 
her  morality  and  her  goodness  of  heart.  She  is  very  charitable 
and  always  ready  to  render  a service  whenever  the  opportunity 
presented  itself.  We  consider  her  a very  respectable  and  honest 
woman,  and  a good  mother  of  a family.  She  is,  moreover,  much 
respected  in  her  neighborhood.”' 

But  the  moral  obliquity  represented  in  these  letters 
is  not  more  complete  than  that  of  the  twenty  business  men 
who  in  1912,  waited  upon  Mayor  Harrison  of  Chicago  and 
pleaded  for  the  re-opening  of  a redlight  district  in  their 
neighborhood  because  the  closing  of  it  had  hurt  their 
business.  “One  of  the  large  furniture  dealers  of  the 
West  Side  took  back  $46,000  worth  of  furniture  which  he 
had  sold  on  the  installment  plan.  The  streets  that  had 
been  filled  with  a rough  element  were  now  quiet.  A group 
of  twenty  so-called  ‘business  men’  waited  on  the  Mayor 


*Les  Dames  du  Maitresses  de  Maison. 
'Social  Evil  in  Chicago,  page  126. 


Commerce  and  Conscience 


297 


to  make  complaint  that  business  was  dead  on  the  West 
Side,  and  to  ask  him  to  ease  up  on  his  law  enforcement. 
The  Mayor  told  them  ‘what  he  thought  of  them,’  and 
they  went  home,  refusing  to  give  their  names  to  the  news- 
paper people  who  wanted  to  write  up  the  interview.”* 
The  names  of  these  “business  men”  were  not  given  to 
the  public. 

In  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  a similar  petition  was  presented 
to  District  Attorney  W.  C.  Zabel  and  in  this  case  we  have 
the  names  of  the  signers  as  they  were  published  in  the 
Milwaukee  Free  Press,  May  30,  1912.  Mr.  Zabel  might 
well  express  astonishment  when  he  received  the  petition. 
Here  is  the  petition  which  marks  the  depth  of  the  com- 
mercial conscience  in  modern  America: 

‘‘Many  of  us  are  obligated  upon  leases  and  do  a large  credit 
business  with  the  inhabitants  of  said  district  and  have  invested 
all  our  money  in  said  businesses  and  are  dependent  upon  them 
for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  our  families,  and  we  respect- 
fully represent  that  the  sudden  and  abrupt  wiping  out  of  said 
district  would  in  some  instances  wholly,  and  in  others  partially 
destroy  our  businesses,”  says  the  petition  in  part.  Those  who 
signed  the  petition  are: 

L.  Deuster,  grocer,  525  East  Water  street;  Rossbach  phar- 
macy, 559  East  Water  street;  Louis  Zoeller,  meat  market,  620 
East  Water  street;  J.  Jerner,  grocer,  57  Juneau  avenue;  A. 
Cohen,  Jr.  & Co.,  grocers,  60  Juneau  avenue;  John  R.  Bruckner, 
grocer,  56  Juneau  avenue;  Prank  Miller,  grocer,  46  Juneau  ave- 
nue; Gus  Lass,  barber,  543  East  Water  street;  W.  F.  Sandrock, 
dry  goods,  corner  East  Water  street  and  Juneau  avenue;  Julius 
Heimann,  meat  market,  40-42  Juneau  avenue;  William  Kasik, 
36  Juneau  avenue;  Jim  Lanzo,  fruit  dealer,  33  Juneau  avenue; 
Gross-Saxe  company,  jewelers,  298  Third  street;  C.  N.  Bradley 
Coal  company,  29  Juneau  avenue;  Bargain  Shoe  Store  company, 
615  East  Water  street;  Joseph  Restram,  571  East  Water  street; 


'Pamphlet  by  Wirt  W.  Hallam. 


298 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


N.  Colllon,  ladies’  clothing,  40  Martin  street;  Thomas  Dorsey, 
tailor,  32  Martin  street;  Frank  J.  Luberlich,  499  East  Water 
street;  Hugo  Borchook,  plumber,  27  Martin  street;  Oscar  L. 
Fland,  22  Martin  street;  W.  and  B.  Shoe  company,  282  Third 
street,  corner  State;  Joseph  Schwori,  custom  shoemaker,  282 
Third  street;  J.  Werner,  cloakmaker,  289  Third  street;  City  Hall 
Drug  store,  507  East  Water  street;  Wigart  Staab,  505  East  Water 
street;  D.  J.  Williams,  cigar  store,  521  East  Water  street;  Ed 
Rivers,  grocer,  546  East  Water  street;  H.  Grabin,  tailor,  501  East 
Water  street. 

Commercialism  has  to  do  with  things.  When  it  puts 
its  hands  on  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  and  women,  it 
violates  human  and  divine  law.  Its  right  to  barter  human 
bodies  has  been  nobly  disputed,  with  the  sacrifice  of  untold 
treasure  and  blood. 

But  the  trading  in  souls  for  lust  and  gain  is  the 
culmination  of  all  crimes.  And  this  crime  of  crimes,  as 
yet,  remains  unchallenged  by  organized  commercial  forces. 

An  institution  of  hell  on  earth,  offering  the  bribe  of 
false  and  glittering  pleasure  to  men,  as  the  bait  which 
ensnares  the  soul  to  the  destruction  of  mankind,  at  the 
very  fountain  and  source  of  life;  the  giant  curse  of  all 
nations,  in  all  ages,  has  laid  the  greatest  of  them  in  the 
dust.  Let  Commerce  purge  herself  of  all  alliance  with  it 
and  the  social  evil  as  a trading  institution  will  receive 
its  death-blow. 


Let  me  point  out  a fact  which  is  of  the  deepest  sig- 
nificance. It  is  this — that  so  long  as  we  women  work 
for  the  personal  reclamation  and  rescue  of  fallen  women, 
men  of  ordinary  character  applaud,  as  well  as  good  men. 
Even  vicious  men  will  speak  affirmingly;  you  will  meet 
with  no  opposition  on  the  part  of  men;  mark  me!  No 
opposition.  But  when  you  demand  and  labor  for  the 
abolition  of  the  Institution  of  prostitution  the  scene 
changes;  opposition  arises,  bitterness,  even  hatred  and 
rage  are  aroused.  . . . Evil  men  know  that  so  long 
as  you  merely  reclaim  individual  women  from  this 
miserable  fate,  you  do  no  harm  to  their  own  position, 
or  to  the  institution  of  prostitution,  which  they  prefer  to 
believe  to  be  a social  necessity — they  know,  full  well, 
that  by  working  as  hard  as  you  choose  to  save  some 
of  the  female  victims  you  do  not  in  any  appreciable 
degree  decrease  ♦^he  number  of  these  victims.  . . 

Then,  observe,  that  in  this  war  against  the  institution 
of  vice  . . . we  arouse  by  degrees  the  conscience  of 
the  world,  while  acting  with  a definite  purpose  and  for 
a given  reason — that  is,  the  abolition  of  legal  prostitution. 
In  aiming  at  this  definite  end  we,  as  God’s  agents  and 
instruments,  have  attained  a far  wider,  greater,  deeper 
and  nobler  end — namely  a revival  of  morality,  an  awaken- 
ing of  the  conscience  of  the  people,  a conviction  that  vice 
is  not  necessary,  and  a desire  for  purer  manhood  and 
juster  laws.  God  is  leading  us  on.” 

Mrs.  Josephine  Butler:  Speech  to  the  ladies  at  Hull, 
England,  1876. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  WAR  AND  THE  WEAPONS. 

“The  antagonism  of  principles  as  opposite  as  heaven 
and  hell  implies  conflict,  war  without  truce;  until  one 
side  is  victorious,  then,  and  not  till  then,  can  there  he 
peace  worthy  of  the  name.” — Josephine  Butler. 

Civilization  has  yet  to  assume  its  greatest  task.  Its 
amazing  progress  has  placed  the  world  many  marches 
forward  in  attainment  and  possessions. 

But  until  she  breaks  the  chains  herself  has  forged, 
the  influence  of  civilization  for  human  good  will  remain 
so  greatly  discounted  that  the  net  gain  to  the  world  will 
be  in  doubt.  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  in  his  last  published 
works  declared  a net  loss  instead  of  a gain.^ 

What  of  modern  war?  If,  in  the  rude  wars  of  barbaric 
ages  men  were  slain  by  the  hundred,  the  engines  of  modern 
war  contemplate  and  effect  the  slaughter  of  thousands. 

What  of  the  modern  liquor  traffic?  The  very  creation 
and  agent  of  civilization,  it  is  the  most  active  and  prolific 
source  of  poverty  and  crime  and  the  ally  of  all  forms  of 
vice,  without  which  sexual  lust  could  never  have  been  sus- 
tained as  a business. 

What  again  of  the  satanic  traffic  in  human  flesh  and 
soul  values?  This  infernal  trade  in  vice — this  barter  of 
child-women — this  colossal  sacrifice  of  womanhood  on  the 
altar  of  a two-fold  lust — lust  of  flesh  and  lust  of  gain — is  a 

’“Social  Environment  and  Moral  Progress.” 


302 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


juggernaut  more  terrible  and  infamous  than  any  of  the 
worst  ages,  or  the  darkest  lands  of  idolatry. 

It  is  ancient,  only  as  civilization  is  ancient,  and  its 
monumental  waste  and  destruction  are  written  in  the  dust 
and  ashes  of  the  cities  and  nations,  once  glorious  in  their 
pride  and  power.^ 

No  form  of  evil  has  held  such  continuous  sway  through 
the  ages  as  this!  Marked  changes  have  taken  place  in 
many  aspects  of  the  conservation  of  human  life  and 
liberty.  Murder,  infanticide,  and  suicide  have  long  since 
passed  out  of  the  list  of  excusable  acts  into  that  of  heinous 
crimes.  Slavery  of  men  and  women,  as  property,  now 
finds  no  defense  in  the  laws  of  any  civilized  country; 
economic  freedom  and  equal  franchise  is  in  the  air. 
Cruelty  to  animals  and  brutal  sports,  such  as  bull-baiting 
and  cock-fighting,  are  buried  under  public  odium,  duels 
are  almost  of  the  past,  pugilism  is  going,  and  the  saloon, 
as  an  alcohol  institution,  is  also  doomed. 

But  the  moral  conditions  of  sex  life  has  changed  only 
in  form  or  fashion.  At  different  periods  sexual  vice  has 
assumed  various  dress.  At  one  time,  infamous  and  riotous, 
it  flaunts  under  the  open  patronage  of  kings,  rulers,  and 
governments : 


‘The  most  important  question  which  humanity  ought  to  ad- 
dress to  its  historical  scholars  is  this:  “Why  did  these  other 
nations  die,  and  what  can  we  do  to  escape  their  fate?”  For 
death  is  not  an  inevitable  and  welcome  necessity  for  a nation, 
as  it  is  for  the  individual.  Its  strength  and  bloom  could  be  in- 
definitely prolonged  if  the  people  were  wise  and  just  enough  to 
avert  the  causes  of  decay.  There  is  no  inherent  cause  why  a 
great  group  of  nations,  such  as  that  which  is  now  united  in 
Western  civilization,  should  not  live  on  in  perpetual  youth,  over- 
coming by  a series  of  rejuvenations  every  social  evil  as  it  arises, 
and  using  every  attainment  as  a stepping-stone  to  a still  higher 
culture  of  individual  and  social  life.  It  has  never  yet  been 
done.  Can  it  be  done  in  a civilization  in  which  Christianity  is 
the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  social  preservative?"  Rauschenbusch. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


303 


“Men,  blush  not  in  actions  black  as  night.” 

At  another  time  it  hides  from  broad  daylight,  or  it 
assumes  the  air  of  prudes,  while  young  souls  are  wrecked, 
and  seeds  of  vile  diseases  are  planted  which  reap  their 
harvests  down  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 

This  traffic  in  womanhood  is  the  very  product  of  civiliza- 
tion’s doctrine  of  “necessity.”  Barbarism  was  brutal  and 
animal.  But  it  was  left  to  civilization  to  organize,  regulate, 
and  protect,  a world-wide  market  with  gangs  of  slave 
hunters,  captors  and  traders,  whose  game  and  plunder 
are  girls — from  factory,  store,  school,  and  home  and  whose 
patrons  are  men  from  every  grade  and  rank  of  society. 

Even  the  hell  of  war  is  associated  with  courage, 
heroism,  and  patriotism.  Drunkenness  and  its  long  train 
of  crimes,  poverty,  and  disease,  are  the  fruits  of  the  alcohol- 
saloon,  which  is  the  ally  of  every  form  of  human  vice  and 
degradation — but  even  the  saloon  contributes  occasional 
humane  shelter  and  some  sort  of  social  festivity.  The 
pirate  on  the  high  seas  or  the  passenger  train,  and  the 
burglar  in  our  cities,  have  no  mercy  on  their  victims,  but 
the  goods  they  steal  find  their  way  back  to  the  marts  of 
utility  and  value. 

But  here  is  a foe  of  all  humanity  without  a vestige  of 
honor  or  a single  qualifying  feature  or  incident — a rebel- 
lion against  innocence  and  honor — its  very  plunder — the 
blood  and  purity  of  womanhood.  Here  is  a pirate  who 
wars  on  domestic  love  and  life;  spreads  unnameable  hor- 
rors to  myriads  of  innocent  women  and  children,  wrecks 
manhood  and  domestic  honor,  and  never  leaves  a shred  of 
salvage  from  the  wreck. 

The  ghoul  who  visits  the  battlefield  to  rob  the  dead 
is  voted  a despicable  hound,  whom,  to  shoot  down  in  his 
tracks  is  deemed  a righteous  deed;  but  the  pander,  the 


304 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


pimp,  the  buyer  and  seller  of  human  bodies  and  souls  for 
a price — the  keeper  of  a house  of  death — are  lower  than 
the  savages  of  the  uncivilized  world.  “If,”  as  Shaks- 
peare  says,  “a  babboon  could  speak  it  would  disown  the 
name  of  a pimp.” 

PROSTITUTION  CAN  BE  SUPPRESSED. 

Remedial  measures  to  relieve  any  great  evil  are  not 
one,  but  many,  but  they  must  be  an  unit  in  purpose  and 
aim  if  they  are  to  accomplish  the  end  in  view.  The  social 
evil,  as  we  have  seen,  is  a three-fold  curse,  striking  at 
the  roots  of  human  love  and  life  and  culminating  in 
monstrous  forms  of  slavery,  through  sensuality  and  cruel 
greed.  No  institution,  or  form  of  slavery,  is  comparable 
with  the  slavery  of  commercialized  lust,  either  for  cruelty — 
for  utter  degradation  of  the  victims — or  the  depravity  of 
the  agents  who  exploit  it;  no  slavery  has  ever  wrought 
such  havoc  upon  the  physical  and  moral  life,  both  of  its 
victims  and  of  society  generally.  Yet  strange  to  say, 
it  is  the  last  of  all  the  social  wrongs  to  be  openly  and 
vigorously  attacked  by  society  in  any  effective  or  righteous 
way.  Every  other  force  of  evil  has  been  brought  face  to 
face  with  actual,  organized  forces  of  opposite  good,  tak- 
ing deliberate  and  concerted  action  against  it.  But 
throughout  the  ages,  society  has  treated  the  social  e^^l 
as  an  inevitable  condition  to  be  excused  and  provided  for. 

It  is  at  last  dawning  upon  the  minds  of  many  that 
sensual  vice  is  no  more  a necessity,  as  a business  institution, 
than  is  any  other  form  of  evil,  and  that  the  attitude  of 
the  teacher,  the  preacher,  and  the  patriot  towards  it,  must 
be  one  of  absolute  and  unalterable  opposition.  But  re- 
demption of  men  and  nations  can  never  come  within 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


305 


measurable  distance  until  we  engage  in  a common  and  con- 
tinuous war  against  all  forms  of  this  evil. 

We  have  seen  notwithstanding  that  every  imaginable 
device  of  toleration,  regulation,  license  and  police  super- 
vision have  been  tried  in  vain,  there  are  yet  literary, 
leaders,  doctors,  business  men  and  even  clergymen,  whd 
cling  to  the  delusion  that  moral  infamy  may  be  lessened 
by  consenting  to  it,  and  that  venereal  diseases  may  be 
relieved  by  oifering  to  the  vicious  and  ignorant  a false 
promise  of  protection  against  the  consequences  of  their 
vices. 

It  must  not  be  assumed,  however,  that  the  defenders 
of  this  system  are  all  immoral  men.  They  include  men 
who  desire  to  aid  reformation  in  society,  who  would  re- 
strict and  repress  vice  as  well  as  disease,  if  they  Snew 
how;  they  see  that  “something  must  be  done”  and,  regard- 
ing the  evil  as  too  deeply  rooted  and  too  prevalent  for  re- 
pressive legal  measures,  they  think  that  restriction  and 
regulation  will  at  least  afford  partial  relief.  But  certain 
fundamental  facts  are  overlooked: 

1.  That  those  who  occupy  positions  of  influence,  as 
doctors,  authors,  journalists,  teachers  and  others,  create 
public  opinion,  and  their  views,  expressed  in  language, 
or  enforced  by  law,  become  the  current  thought  of  the 
people.  The  educative  power  of  law,  or  of  legal  machinery 
such  as  the  police,  must  never  be  overlooked.  All  these 
confirm  or  discourage  social  habits,  and  especially  those 
habits  which  have  their  roots  in  the  relations  of  the  sexes. 

2.  Virtue  and  vice  both  grow  more  strong  in  soil  pre- 
pared and  adapted  to  them.  Just  as  purity  flourishes  best 
where  the  moral  atmosphere  is  not  tainted — so  impurity 
grows  rank  and  rapidly  where  it  is  encouraged,  permitted, 
paid  for  and  hedged  around  with  securities  or  protection. 


306 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


It  is  of  course  claimed  on  behalf  of  regulation  that  its 
advocates  neither  encourage  nor  favor  prostitution,  but 
recognize  it  only,  in  order  to  restrict  its  fields  of  operation 
and  to  lessen  its  physical  consequences,  especially  as  they 
affect  innocent  persons. 

But,  even  if  this  be  granted,  as  the  ruling  motive  of 
all  such  action,  the  character  of  the  treatment  cannot  be 
determined  by  it.  The  tree  must  be  known  by  its  fruit — 
not  by  the  intention  of  the  planters.  It  is  the  undeviating 
testimony  of  facts  that  when  vice  of  any  kind  is  recognized 
by  regulation,  i.  e.,  by  determining  where  and  how  it  may 
operate,  the  transparent  permission  of  legal  sanction  thus 
given,  lends  it  dignity  and  assumed  rights  which  greatly 
increase  its  influence.  What  the  law  approves,  permits, 
sanctions,  or  allows,  it  stimulates.  Thus,  when  gambling 
is  tolerated,  or  sanctioned  by  police  rule,  the  professional 
gambler  has  no  need  to  apologize  for  his  operations.  He 
assumes  a right  in  custom  and  law;  his  exploits  becoming 
more  daring,  conspicuous  and  prosperous  (although  he 
may  be  heavily  taxed  for  the  permission)  and,  in  course 
of  time,  he  is  ready  to  assume  the  rights  of  ordinary  busi- 
ness and  claims  compensation  if  he  is  disturbed. 

3.  The  disastrous  effects  of  a law  which  consents  to 
conditional  or  regulated  immorality  are  found,  not  only 
in  the  removal  of  the  legal  obstacles  which  make  vice 
easier.  Such  law  offers  to  sensual  men,  and  to  ignorant 
youth,  the  suggestion  that  sexual  vice  is  no  vice  at  all, 
if  followed  under  regulated  conditions,  and  thus  it  breaks 
down  the  guards  and  warnings,  which  law  ought  to  pro- 
vide against  wrongdoing. 

The  nation,  state,  or  city,  which  sanctions  or  allows 
a system  of  “permits”  or  regulation,  by  segregation, 
registration,  or  toleration,  through  its  police  or  other 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


307 


agents,  becomes  a party  to  the  evil — a procurer  for  the 
vices  of  men;  a powerful  agent  against  the  honor  and 
liberties  of  women,  and  a destroyer  of  home  life. 

Lecky’s  high-flown  passage,  quoted  in  this  volume,* 
is  an  expression  of  the  uniform  thought  of  “ regulationists.  ” 
They  assume  that  sex-vice  is  a normal,  unchangeable,  con- 
dition of  the  male  human,  and  that  womanhood  must 
always  furnish  an  offering  to  the  lusts  of  men, — that,  for 
all  time,  she  must  either  be  a pet-slave  of  the  eastern 
harem  and  its  western  equivalent,  or  the  poor,  despised 
creature  of  the  vice  shambles, — the  priestess  of  humanity, 
indeed! — a sacrifice,  bruised,  tortured,  diseased,  enslaved, 
and  slain  for  the  sins  of  man. 

Yet,  what  true  man  is  there  who  would  not  resent,  unto 
blood,  any  proposal  to  offer  his  own  mother,  wife,  sister, 
or  daughter  as  a contribution  to  this  sacriflcial  offering. 

Happily  there  is  a great  advance  in  the  attitude  of 
thinking  men  and  women  on  this  subject.  It  is  not  recorded 
that  a single  protest  was  offered  in  all  that  great  body  of 
American  physicians  when,  in  1874,  Prof.  Gross  openly  ad- 
vocated the  doctrine  of  necessity  and  the  policy  of  license. 

But  as  we  have  shown,  there  are  today  thousands  of  the 
most  distinguished  physicians  in  all  parts  of  the  country — 
and  of  the  world — who  not  only  declare  the  doctrine  of 
necessity  false,  but  proclaim  chastity  as  a normal  human 
condition,  in  harmony  with  normal  health  and  physical  per- 
fection. 

Rescue  and  Prevention  : — Born  of  profound  pity  for 
the  women  and  girls  who  have  been  debased  by  men,  and 
then  called  “fallen  women,”  the  service  of  rescue  has  been 
maintained.  Rescue  is  to  be  welcomed  as  an  angel  of  mercy, 


'See  Fore-word. 


308 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


and  as  the  star  of  hope  and  relief,  like  the  Red  Cross  Evan- 
gel on  the  field  of  battle;  like  Grace  Darling — risking  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  the  rough  winds  and  the  tem- 
pestuous sea  to  save  an  occasional  ship-wrecked  life.  The 
rescue  missionary  has  nobly  and  heroically  saved  many 
women  and  girls,  who,  being  mortal,  were  also  weak,  and 
therefore  often  yielding — and  sometimes  sinning. 

But  under  unequal  moral  standards.  Rescue  delivers 
only  from  the  bondage  of  life  in  a brothel;  the  woman  is 
still  doomed  to  wear  the  scarlet  letter — reproached  and 
scorned  by  Pharisaical  society. 

Such  rescue  does  not  destroy  or  even  weaken  the  insti- 
tution of  commercialized  vice.  It  is  probably  safe  to  say 
that  for  every  one  rescued,  the  door  is  thus  opened  for  at 
least  ten  others  to  be  seduced,  entrapped  and  held  in  the 
bondage  of  this  slavery. 

Just  as  the  ministry  of  the  Red  Cross  angel  does  not 
abate  the  war,  nor  bring  peace  on  earth ; so  rescue  does  not 
lessen  the  deeds  of  lust,  nor  save  the  innocent  from  the  traps 
of  white  slavery. 

The  greater  angel  of  deliverance  is  called  “Preven- 
tion. ’ ’ 

This  word  “Prevention”  in  this  connection,  covers  all 
efforts  of  society  against  the  seductive  and  slavish  condi- 
tions of  the  Social  Evil.  It  strikes  at  the  roots  of  the 
pestilent  tree  and  welcomes  every  agency  that  ennobles  man 
and  woman — boy  and  girl.  It  recognizes  every  defect  in 
the  social  organism,  law,  usage,  hygiene,  education  and 
morals. 

Under  the  head  of  law  are  all  the  questions  which 
government  is  so  slow  to  answer.  We  have  in  every  State 
great  legislative  bodies  numbering  from  thirty  to  more 
than  300  persons — Senators  and  Representatives — and  a 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


309 


National  Congress  with  its  two  great  Houses  of  Senators 
and  Congressmen.  And  to  all  these  thousands  of  men, 
chosen  to  do  the  business  of  the  nation  and  the  common- 
wealths, the  people  pay,  respectively,  from  a few  hundreds 
to  $10,000  annually. 

But  party  and  personal  interests  are  placed  above  the 
needs  of  humanity  and  the  real  issues  of  life,  liberty,  and 
domestic  happiness  are  left  over  from  year  to  year  indefi- 
nitely. When  the  people  ask  for  a fish  they  are  given  a 
stone. 

A large  majority  of  these  legislators  recognize  the  claims 
of  society  for  relief  from  pestilent  gangs  who  prey  upon 
society,  and  from  conditions  that  would  be  a shame  to 
Hottentots;  but  tariff,  and  trusts,  and  bills  for  personal 
ends,  are  allowed  to  block  the  way  until  the  cry  for  reme- 
dies grow  faint  with  sheer  weariness. 

Marriage  and  Divorce  are  twin  subjects  that  should, 
long  ago,  have  been  expressed  in  better  law.  That  mar- 
riage should  remain  so  long  a jumble  and  confusion  of 
crude  and  ill-considered  laws,  as  many  times  varied  as  there 
are  states  in  the  Union,  is  to  our  everlasting  discredit.  That 
it  should  be  possible  for  a couple  to  cross  any  state  line  and 
be  legally  united  on  terms  that  are  invalid  in  another  state; 
or  that  a marriage,  which  is  legal  in  one  state  may  not  be  so 
in  another,  is  a monstrosity  that  might  be  excused  if  it 
were  a relic  of  superstition  in  a far  off  heathendom. 

Marriage  is  the  foundation  of  the  family  and  “the 
family  is  the  centre  and  archetype  of  the  State,  and  the 
happiness  and  goodness  of  society  are  always  dependent 
upon  the  purity  of  domestic  life.”^  “Biologically,  the 
family  is  the  primary  cell  of  the  whole  social  organism."* 

‘History  of  European  Morals. — Lecky. 

•Religion  in  Social  Action. — Graham  Taylor. 


310 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


It  is  useless  to  attempt  any  legislation  to  restrain  di- 
vorce until  marriage  laws  are  first  made  uniform  in  prin- 
ciple— (the  form  and  details  being  left  to  the  State)  by 
the  federal  government.  And  such  uniformity  should  make 
absolute  provision  against  the  employment  of  marriage 
contracts  as  instruments,  ready  at  hand,  to  the  vice  slaver. 

Provision  should  be  made,  by  a uniform  federal  law, 
that  no  marriage  could  take  place  in  any  state  without  a 
public  notice  of  the  license  applied  for,  such  notice  to  be 
published  a number  of  days  before  the  issue  of  the  license, 
and  the  marriage,  permissable  only,  in  the  country  or  State  in 
which  at  least  one  of  the  two  persons  has  resided  for  a period 
of  months.  If  prior  registration  is  deemed  necessary  to  the 
exercise  of  the  ballot  how  much  more  should  it  be  for  a 
legal  contract  which  affects  the  life  of  a family,  through 
generations  to  come,  and  through  them,  the  interests  of  the 
State. 

A student  of  this  subject  urges  that  marriage  should 
be  by  civil  contract  only  and  that  “a  magistrate  alone 
should  have  power  to  legalize  marriage.  ’ ’ ^ This  would  have 
the  effect  of  eliminating  the  religious  element,  the  value 
of  which  has  been,  from  time  immemorial,  recognized. 

But  the  force  of  the  civil  tie  is  not  lessened  by  the 
religious  service,  since,  as  the  same  author  points  out,  the 
minister  takes  his  authority  from  the  State  “by  the  power 
rested  in  me  by  the  State  I pronounce  you  man  and  wife.  ’ ’ 
The  minister  therefore  performs  a civil  marriage  fie,  as 
truly,  and  by  the  same  authority  as  a magistrate,  with  the 
added  impressiveness  of  a religious  obligation  and  vow. 

That  Society  may  be  delivered  from  degenerates  many 
other  remedies  are  now  suggested.  It  is  the  wonder  of 
thoughtful  men  and  women  that,  having  studied  and  de- 


'Woman’s  Share  in  Soul  Culture.' — A.  Garlin  Spencer. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


311 


veloped,  in  a marvelous  degree,  the  species  of  domestic  and 
other  animals,  transformed  the  wild  rose  into  an  “Ameri- 
can Beauty”  and  the  prolific  cactus  into  a fruitful  edible 
tuber  we  should  thus  far  have  neglected  the  eugenics  of 
the  human  species.  Here  is  a new  kindergarten — and  a 
new  interpreter  for  every  grade  in  the  school  of  life. 

“The  first  legislative  recognition  of  a eugenic  public 
policy  was  given  by  the  British  parliamentary  measures  of 
1909,  providing  for  a ‘Maternity  Benefit’  in  the  industrial 
insurance  act,  and  the  remission  of  7s.  6d.  for  every  child 
from  the  income  tax  upon  the  head  of  each  family.  ’ Here 
is  the  beginning  of  a new  State-care  of  the  family  which 
may  be  attended  with  much  good. 

Age  of  Consent  : — Governing  bodies  are  also  criminally 
slow  in  protecting  the  young  and  weak  from  the  ravages 
of  vicious  and  unscrupulous  men.  The  “age  of  consent” 
laws  of  many  of  our  states  remain,  an  indictment  of  crim- 
inal neglect,  or  purpose,  against  all  our  lawgivers.  A chart 
in  the  Appendices  of  this  volume  shows  that  in  one  state 
the  so-called  “age  of  consent”  is  as  low  as  7 years;  in  an- 
other, 10 ; in  three  states,  12 ; in  eight  states,  14 ; while 
the  average  age  in  all  the  states  and  territories  of  the 
United  States  is  about  15^2  years. 

Think  of  children  of  eight,  ten,  twelve,  or  even  of  the 
average  of  less  than  sixteen,  being  held  by  law  as  account- 
able for  their  own  persons,  against  the  villainous  attacks 
of  unscrupulous,  designing,  rascals — such  as  are  of  daily 
occurrence  in  every  city. 

The  legal  age  of  girls  and  hoys  should  be  made  equal, 
and  then  a uniform  law  should  be  agreed  upon  in  every 
state  that  the  legal  age  of  21  shall  also  be  the  “age  of 
consent.”  There  is  new  reason  for  this  equality  of  the 


^Graham  Taylor. 


312 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


legal  age  since  women  are  so  rapidly  coming  into  the 
political  franchise. 

Saloon  and  Dance  Hall  : — The  law  ought  also  to  pro- 
tect the  young  against  all  relations  of  the  dance-hall  A?sdth 
the  saloon. 

There  is  no  greater  reproach  upon  our  government — na- 
tional, state  and  civic — than  the  lack  of  protection  for  hu- 
man life,  honor  and  liberty.  If  a purse  is  stolen  the  thief 
is  arrested  and  the  penalty  is  severe.  If  a girl  is  robbed  of 
her  honor,  which  is  her  chief  dowry,  and  is  of  incomparably 
more  concern  to  the  state  than  the  protection  of  a purse,  or 
a jewel,  the  police  are  not  instructed  to  hunt  down  the 
thief. 

If  a man  steals  a horse  he  may  be  sent  to  the  peniten- 
tiary, but  if  a pander  steals  a girl  and  drains  her  life  to 
satisfy  his  miserable  appetite  or  greed,  even  if  arrested,  he 
may  escape  under  the  contemptible  coward’s  plea  that  she 
consented.  Even  the  vicious  brothel  keeper  is  carefully 
protected  against  action  for  debauching  the  public  con- 
science or  demoralizing  the  neighborhood.  Under  the  com- 
mon law  of  the  State,  a man  who  owns  the  house  he  lives 
in  may  bring  a civil  action  for  damages  against  a person 
who  sets  up  a brothel  adjacent  to  his  property,  but  if  he 
is  a tenant  his  only  practical  remedy  is  to  move  away, 
with  the  risk  of  a similar  nuisance  elsewhere. 

Injunction  Law: — This  defect  in  law  will  be  met  in  a 
large  measure  by  the  Injunction  and  Abatement  law  which, 
as  we  have  shown,  is  now  in  operation  in  twelve  states  and 
the  District  of  Columbia,  but  has  been  defeated  in  some 
other  states  by  the  deplorably  chaotic  condition  of  our 
State  legislatures. 

Here,  however,  we  have  a weapon  which  has  already  put 
the  brothel  out  of  business  in  at  least  one  State,  and  is 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


313 


rapidly  doing  it  in  others.  And  when  every  State  furnishes 
this  weapon,  and  the  people  learn  how  to  use  it — the  brothel 
will  go — the  market  of  open,  recognized  vice  will  be  closed ; 
and  when  the  market  is  closed  there  can  be  no  sale  of 
girls  and  this  merchandise  of  death  will  be  ended. 

THE  REPRESSION  OP  MARRIAGE. 

The  measures  now  advocated  for  the  restriction  and 
regulation  of  families  by  law  are  not  to  be  accepted  without 
question  and  consideration.  Laws  for  the  proper  and 
orderly  observance  of  marriage  are  needed;  laws  that  will 
give  security  against  ill-considered,  hasty,  marriage  be- 
tween young  people,  or  between  older  adventurers  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  young  or  inexperienced,  on  the  other ; laws 
that  recognize  the  right  of  parents  and  guardians  to  a 
knowledge  of  marriage  contracts  beforehand;  laws  that 
shall  hold  marriage  in  one  state  to  be  marriage  in  another, 
— these  are  necessary  steps  before  the  question  of  divorce 
can  be  dealt  with. 

But  laws  forbidding  marriage  at  the  behest  of  physi- 
cians may  lead  to  a flood-tide  of  unmarried  licentiousness, 
without  lessening  the  evils  they  are  designed  to  mitigate 
and  will  give  new  opportunities  for  the  graft  of  quackery. 

It  is  probable  that  new  zeal  in  the  direction  of  eugenics 
will  be  attended  by  some  errors. 

Dean  Sumner’s  ruling  against  marriage  of  any  couple 
who  do  not  hold  a certificate  of  a reputable  physician  certi- 
fying that  they  are  physically  and  mentally  fit,  can  do  no 
harm  as  an  experiment.  It  is  operative  only  as  it  applies 
to  the  Episcopal  Cathedral  of  Chicago  and  to  such  others 
as  elect  to  copy  the  method  and  its  effects  may  be  watched 
with  interest.  But  when,  as  in  Wisconsin,  it  is  made  a law 
of  the  State — the  edict  assumes  a different  aspect  and  leads 


314 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


to  various  questions.  What,  for  instance,  will  become  of 
those  who  cannot  pass  the  examination  of  the  State,  or 
other  reputable,  physicians?  Will  they  abstain  from  mar- 
riage or,  knowing  their  weakness,  will  they  secure  a certifi- 
cate from  some  less  reputable  physician?  Or  will  they^ 
decide  to  live  together  without  marriage  and,  if  so,  what 
may  be  the  effect  upon  the  ratio  of  illegitimate  births  ? 

Will  not  the  raising  of  a legal  bar  against  marriage  tend 
to  increase  loose  concubinage  and  illegitimacy,  thus  adding 
a new  evil  to  that  of  mentally  and  physically  defective 
births  ? 

State  provision  for  free  medical  advice  to  persons  in- 
tending marriage  is  much  needed.  Parents  and  guardians 
of  youths,  of  both  sexes,  could  then  be  encouraged  to  insist 
upon  a medical  certificate  where  a taint  is  suspected  and  thus 
protect  their  own  daughters  or  sons.  The  official  Medical 
Examiner  also,  could  then  report  cases  of  the  “unfit”  who 
should  be  refused  a marriage  certificate,  unless  birth  of 
children  was  prevented  by  sterilization. 

But  for  the  State  to  say  to  Society — thou  shalt  not  live 
in  fornication — and  yet  to  put  up  an  absolute  bar  against 
the  legal  marriage  of  many  is  to  make  provision  for  chaos 
in  social  life. 

Think  again  of  the  danger  of  placing  the  power  in  the 
hands  of  any  class  of  men — to  forbid  the  marriage  of  the 
sexes  and  practically  to  say : — ^you  may  go  just  as  you  are — 
physically  fit  or  not  fit — and  dwell  together,  and  beget 
children  in  illegitimacy,  but  you  cannot  marry  and  give 
to  your  union  a legitimate  relationship. 

The  late  distinguished  scientist,  Alfred  Russel  Wallace, 
in  his  last  work^  quotes  Hiram  M.  Stanley  as  saying: 


“‘Social  Environment  and  Moral  Progress." 


315 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 

“In  the  true  golden  age,  which  lies  not  behind  but  before 
us,  the  privilege  of  parentage  will  be  esteemed  an  honor  for  the 
comparatively  few,  and  no  child  will  be  born  who  is  not  only 
sound  in  body  and  mind,  but  also  above  the  average  as  to  nat- 
ural ability  and  moral  force.  The  most  important  matter  in  so- 
ciety, the  inherent  quality  of  the  members  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed, should  be  regulated  by  trained  specialists.” 

To  this  suggestion  Mr.  Wallace  remarks:  “Of  course, 
our  modern  eugenists  will  disclaim  any  wish  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  are  here  hinted  at,  which  are  in  every  way 
dangerous  and  detestable.  But  I protest  strenuously 
against  any  direct  interference  with  the  freedom  of  mar- 
riage, which,  is  not  only  totally  unnecessary,  but  would  b6 
a much  greater  source  of  danger  to  morals  and  to  the 
well-being  of  humanity  than  the  mere  temporary  evils  it 
seeks  to  cure.  I trust  that  all  my  readers  will  oppose  any 
legislation  on  this  subject  by  a chance  body  of  elected  per- 
sons who  are  totally  unfitted  to  deal  with  far  less  com- 
plex problems  than  this  one,  and  as  to  which  they  are  sure 
to  bungle  disastrously.” 

That  society  should  make  provision  against  the  pair- 
ing of  the  unfit — the  weak-minded,  demented,  and  diseased — 
is  strongly  advocated  by  Judge  Olson  in  the  address  which 
we  publish  as  an  Appendix  of  this  volume.  There  are 
stupendous  changes  involved  and  many  objections  to  over- 
come but  such  a scheme,  so  ably  presented  by  Judge  Olson^ 
has  the  great  merit  of  dealing  gradually  with  these  classes, 
in  their  youth,  before  they  acquire  a desire  for  marriage 
and  in  such  a way  as  practically  to  segregate  the  sexes,  at 
least  until  an  age  or  condition,  when  offspring  cannot  be 
born  to  them. 

Mr.  Wallace  declares:  “It  is  in  the  highest  degree 
presumptuous  and  irrational  to  attempt  to  deal  by  com- 
‘See  Appendix. 


316 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


pulsory  enactments  with  the  most  vital  and  most  sacred  of 
all  human  relations,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  our  present 
phase  of  social  development  is  not  only  extremely  imper- 
fect but  vicious  and  rotten  at  the  core.  How  can  it  be 
possible  to  determine  by  legislation  those  relations  of  the 
sexes  which  shall  be  best  alike  for  individuals  and  for  the 
race,  in  a society  in  which  a large  proportion  of  our 
women  are  forced  to  work  long  hours  daily  for  the  barest 
subsistence,  with  an  almost  total  absence  of  the  rational 
pleasures  of  life,  for  the  want  of  which  thousands  are 
driven  into  wholly  uncongenial  marriages  in  order  to  se- 
cure some  amount  of  personal  independence  or  physical 
well-being  ? ’ 

He  contends  that  “when  men  and  women  are,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  course  of  civilization,  alike  free  to  follow 
their  best  impulses;  when  idleness  and  vicious  or  hurtful 
luxury  on  the  one  hand,  oppressive  labor  and  the  dread  of 
starvation  on  the  other,  are  alike  unknown;  when  all  re- 
ceive the  best  and  broadest  education  that  the  state  of 
civilization  and  knowledge  will  admit ; when  the  standard  of 
public  opinion  is  set  by  the  wisest  and  the  best  among  us, 
and  that  standard  is  systematically  inculcated  on  the 
young;  then  we  shall  find  that  a system  of  truly  natural 
selection  will  come  spontaneously  into  action  which  will 
steadily  tend  to  eliminate  the  lower,  the  less  developed,  or 
in  any  way  defective  types  of  men,  and  wiU  thus  continu- 
ously raise  the  physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  standard 
of  the  race.” 

The  mode  by  which  this  will  come  about  is  thus  stated 
by  Mr.  Wallace. 

1,  “That  a very  moderate  advance  in  the  average  age 
of  marriage — which  would  certainly  result  from  a truly 

'“Social  Environment  and  Moral  Progress." 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


317 


rational  system  of  education  combined  with  economic 
equality — necessarily  diminishes  the  rate  of  increase  of  the 
population. 

2.  ‘ ‘ That  every  approach  to  educational  and  economic 
equality  by  effecting  a large  saving  of  the  lives  of  males 
who  now  die  from  preventable  causes,  combined  with  the 
fact  that  male  births  exceed  those  of  females,  would  so 
diminish  the  number  of  the  latter  that  they  would  soon  be- 
come less  instead  of,  as  now,  more  than  that  of  males ; that 
this  would  give  them  an  effective  choice  in  marriage  which 
they  do  not  now  possess,  together  with  the  power  of  de- 
lay which  for  many  reasons  large  numbers  of  them  would 
exercise. 

3.  “The  law  of  diminishing  fertility  with  increase  of 
brain-work  through  education  and  training  would  further 
tend  to  the  diminution  of  fertility.  These  three  natural 
causes  aU  tend  in  one  direction — the  equality  of  births 
with  deaths,  while  their  action  would  be  so  readily  modified 
by  public  opinion  as  to  obviate  all  danger  of  either  in- 
crease or  decrease  beyond  what  was  necessary  for  the  well- 
being of  each  community,  nation  or  race.” 

“As  time  goes  on,  and  she  (woman)  acquires  more 
and  more  economic  independence,  that  alone  will  give  her 
an  effective  choice  which  she  has  never  had  before.  But 
this  choice  will  be  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that, 
with  ever-increasing  approach  to  equality  of  opportunity 
for  every  child  born  in  our  country,  that  terrible  excess 
of  male  deaths,  in  boyhood  and  early  manhood  especially, 
due  to  various  preventable  causes,  will  disappear,  and 
change  the  present  majority  of  women  to  a majority  of 
men.  This  will  lead  to  a greater  rivalry  for  wives,  and 
will  give  to  women  the  power  of  rejecting  all  the  lower 
types  of  character  among  their  suitors.” 


318 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“ The  certainty  that  this  powerful  selective  agency  will 
come  into  existence  just  in  proportion  as  we  reform  our 
existing  social  system  by  the  abolition  of  poverty  and  the 
establishment  of  full  equality  of  opportunity  in  education 
and  economic  position,  demonstrates  that  Nature — or  the 
Universal  Mind — has  not  failed  or  bungled  our  world  so 
completely  as  to  require  the  weak  and  ignorant  efforts  of 
the  eugenists  to  set  it  right,  while  leaving  the  great  funda- 
mental causes  of  all  existing  social  evils  absolutely  un- 
touched. Let  them  devote  all  their  energies  to  purifying 
this  whitened  sepulchre  of  destitution  and  ignorance,  and 
the  beneficent  laws  of  human  nature  will  themselves  bring 
about  the  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  advancement  of 
our  race.”^ 

Ex-President  Roosevelt’s  plea  for  the  family  was  in- 
spired by  a statesman’s  view  of  the  dangers  to  any  nation 
which  fails  to  conserve  family  life.  “The  prime  need,^’ 
he  says,  “is  to  raise  the  level  of  individual  morality,  and 
to  encourage  early  marriages  and  a strict  sense  of  recip- 
rocal conjugal  obligations.  The  women  who  preach  late 
marriages  are  by  just  so  much  making  it  difficult  to  bett^T 
the  standard  of  morality.”  All  other  questions  sink  int'- 
insignificance  when  the  stability  of  the  family  is  at  stake 
and,  as  Prof.  Rauschenbausch  has  said,  the  most  significant 
part  of  that  utterance  of  Mr.  Roosevelt’s  “was  that  such  a 
thing  had  to  be  uttered  at  all.  In  our  country  the  decline 
has  become  chronic  for  some  years  past.  Men  marry  late, 
and  when  the  mating  season  of  youth  is  once  past,  many 
never  marry  at  all.  In  my  city  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  with 
a population  of  162,608,  the  census  of  1900  showed  25,- 
219  men  between  the  ages  of  25  and  44,  the  years  during 
which  a man  ought  to  be  enjoying  a home  and  rearing 

‘"Social  Environment  and  Moral  Progress." 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


319 


children,  and  7,355  of  them  were  still  unmarried.  There 
were  28,218  women  of  the  same  years,  relatively  further 
along  in  marriageable  age  than  the  men,  and  8,109  were 
still  unmarried.  Now  the  attraction  between  men  and 
women  is  just  as  fundamental  a fact  in  social  life  as  the 
attraction  of  the  earth  is  in  physics,  and  the  only  way  in 
which  that  tremendous  force  of  desire  can  be  prevented 
from  wrecking  lives  is  to  make  it  build  lives  by  home  con- 
tentment.”^ 

The  home  is  not  only  consecrated  and  saved  by  the 
child,  but  the  nation  itself  is  saved  thereby. 

George  Kibhe  Turner  has  well  said:  “The  chastity  of 
woman  is  at  the  foundation  of  Anglo-Saxon  society.  Our 
laws  are  based  upon  it,  and  the  finest  and  most  binding 
of  our  social  relations.  Nothing  could  be  more  menacing 
to  a civilization  than  the  sale  of  this  as  a commodity.  To 
the  average  individual  woman  concerned,  it  means  the 
expectation  of  death  under  ten  years ; to  practically  all  the 
longer  survivors  a villainous  and  hideous  after-life.”* 

No  thoughtful  person  will  dispute  the  truth  of  this,  but 
men  have  not  yet  learned  that  it  is  true  also  of  men. 
Unchastity  of  men  is  the  primary  cause  of  the  sale  of 
woman  as  a commodity  and  of  all  that  attend  that  sale, 
including  the  physical  blight  and  premature  death  of  men 
as  well  as  women. 

Tacitus  furnishes  a sketch  of  the  domestic  relations  of 
the  ancient  peoples  of  the  German  race ; he  does  not 
portray  them,  of  course,  as  noted  for  refinement,  but  he 
shows  that  they  did  not  barter  their  wives  and  daughters 
for  profit  except  on  a basis  of  marriage.  He  says: 

^Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  page  272. 

’McClure’s,  April,  1907. 


320 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


"The  matrimonial  bond  is  strict  and  severe  among  them; 
nor  is  there  anything  in  their  manner  more  commendable  than 
this.  Almost  singly  among  the  barbarians,  they  content  them- 
selves with  one  wife;  a very  few  of  them  excepted,  who,  not 
through  incontinence,  but  because  their  alliance  is  solicited  on 
account  of  their  rank,  practice  polygamy.  The  wife  does  not 
bring  a dowry  to  her  husband,  but  receives  one  from  him.  The 
parents  and  relations  assemble,  and  pass  their  approbation  on 
the  presents — presents  not  adapted  to  please  a female  taste,  or 
decorate  the  bride;  but  oxen,  a caparisoned  steed,  a shield,  spear, 
and  sword.  That  the  woman  may  not  think  herself  excused 
from  exertions  of  fortitude,  or  exempt  from  the  casualties  of 
war,  she  is  admonished  by  the  very  ceremonial  of  her  marriage, 
that  she  comes  to  her  husband  as  a partner  in  toils  and  dangers; 
to  suffer  and  to  dare  equally  with  him,  in  peace  and  in  war; 
this  is  indicated  by  the  yoked  oxen,  the  harnessed  steed,  the  of- 
fered arms.  Thus  she  is  to  live;  thus  to  die.  She  receives  what 
she  is  to  return  inviolate  and  honored  to  her  children;  what  her 
daughters-in-law  are  to  receive,  and  again  transmit  to  her  grand- 
children. 

"They  live,  therefore,  fenced  around  with  chastity;  corrupted 
by  no  seductive  spectacles,  no  convivial  Incitements.  Men  and 
women  are  alike  unacquainted  with  clandestine  correspondence. 
Adultery  is  extremely  rare  among  so  numerous  a people.  Its 
punishment  is  instant  and  at  the  pleasure  of  the  husband.  He 
cuts  off  the  hair  of  the  offender,  strips  her,  and  in  the  presence 
of  her  relations,  expels  her  from  his  home  and  pursues  her  with 
stripes  through  the  whole  village.  Nor  is  any  Indulgence  shown 
to  a prostitute.  Neither  beauty,  youth,  nor  riches  can  procure 
her  a husband;  for  none  there  looks  on  vice  with  a smile,  or 
calls  mutual  seduction  the  way  of  the  world.  Still  more  ex- 
emplary is  the  practice  of  those  states  in  which  none  but  virgins 
marry,  and  the  expectations  and  wishes  of  a wife  are  at  once 
brought  to  a period.  Thus,  they  take  one  husband  as  one  body 
and  one  life;  that  no  thought,  no  desire  may  extend  beyond  him; 
and  he  may  be  loved,  not  only  as  their  husband,  but  as  their  mar- 
riage. To  limit  the  increase  of  children,  or  put  to  death  any  of 
the  later  progeny,  is  accounted  Infamous;  and  good  habits  have 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


321 


there  more  influence  than  good  laws  elsewhere.  (Tacitus,  Ger- 
many and  Agricola  Oxford  Translation.)* 

This  simple  note  of  an  ancient  people  shows  that  their 
conduct  was  directed  by  nature’s  laws.  They  followed 
nature  so  well  that  they  were  a race  of  stalwarts.  They 
were  simple,  if  barbaric.  They  were  brave,  even  if  brutal. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  refinements  of  education,  ethics, 
or  art;  but  they  were  chaste  and  in  youth  continent, 
obedient  to  nature ; and  they  made  choice  of  suitable  mates. 
They  left  it  to  civilization  to  provide  measures  of  regula- 
tion, license,  and  commercialization.  They  framed  their 
life  with  a view  to  physical  advantage  and  healthy,  vigor- 
lives  with  a view  to  physical  advantage  and  healthy,  vigor- 
ous progeny.  Much  of  what  the  sturdy  German  races  owe 
to  these  ancestors  of  two  thousand  years  ago,  they,  like 
other  nations,  have  lost  in  modern  licentiousness  and  the 
regulated  brothel  under  civilization. 

Education  and  Morals. 

Dr.  Richard  Cabot  has  warned  us  that  in  dealing  with 
love  and  sex  there  is  especial  need  of  restraint.^  The 
learned  Doctor’s  wise  counsel  must  command  our  respect, 
but  his  instructive  lectures®  are  his  testimony  against  leav- 


*A  note  to  this  translation  by  Edwin  Brooks,  Jr.,  says: 

“The  chastity  of  the  Germans,  and  their  strict  regard  to  the 
laws  of  marriage,  are  witnessed  by  all  their  ancient  codes  of  law. 
The  purity  of  their  manners  in  this  respect  afforded  a striking 
contrast  to  the  licentiousness  of  the  Romans  in  the  decline  of  the 
empire,  and  is  exhibited  in  this  light  by  Salvian,  in  his  treatise 
De  Guhernatione.” 

Tacitus  also  says  that,  “The  youths  partake  late  of  the  pleas- 
ures of  love,  and  hence  pass  the  age  of  puberty  unexhausted;  nor 
are  the  virgins  hurried  into  marriage;  the  same  maturity,  the 
same  full  growth  is  required;  the  sexes  unite  equally  matched, 
and  robust;  and  the  children  inherit  the  vigor  of  their  parents.” 

“What  Men  Live  By,  p.  225. 

’Christian  Approach  to  Social  Morality. 


322 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


ing  the  field  to  error  and  darkness. 

“There  is  no  darkness,  but  ignorance,”  says  Shak- 
speare;  and  Jesus  Christ  found  no  figure  that  could  per- 
sonify himself  as  a teacher,  like  light — “I  am  the  Light 
of  the  World.” 

Darkness  and  superstition  are  twins.  Nothing  can 
overcome  them  but  light — the  great,  bright,  sunlight  of 
truth.  To  those  who  live  in  the  light,  it  seems  incredible 
that  any  should  make  choice  of  darkness,  and  yet  millions 
of  people  choose  darkness  rather  than  disturb  their  old 
time  superstitions. 

On  no  subject  does  this  love  of  darkness  prevail  as  on 
that  of  human  race  hygiene.  The  highest  conditions  are 
shown  and  studied  in  everj’^  other  department  of  life. 
Horses,  cattle,  and  dogs,  are  carefully  studied  for  race 
culture.  Birds  and  fowls  are  studiously  mated.  Flowers 
and  vegetables  are  subject  to  the  utmost  culture  that  the 
best  may  be  produced.  But  in  the  human  family,  ignorance 
is  preferred  on  the  plea  that  knowledge  is  indecent.  Chil- 
dren are  ignorantly  born  and  blindly  allowed  to  grow  up. 

Sex  or  race-hygiene  is  health  of  the  race ; health  in 
reproduction ; and  health  in  growth  and  quality.^ 

To  ask  any  intelligent  person : ‘ ‘ Ought  we  to  teach 

it?”  should  meet  an  instant  answer  in  the  affirmative. 
Yet,  thei'e  is  no  question  upon  which  intelligent  people 
raise  so  many  and  varied  objections. 


^To  those  who  would  study  this  subject  from  the  stand- 
point of  education  we  know  of  nothing  equal  to  Dr.  G.  Stanley 
Hall’s  two  volumes  on  “Adolescence,”  published  by  Appleton  & 
Co.;  and  The  Eighth  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the 
Scientific  Study  of  Education;  it  is  edited  by  Prof.  Chas.  R. 
Henderson  of  Chicago  University,  and  is  published  by  the  Uni- 
versity Press  of  Chicago  in  two  parts,  I and  II. 


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323 


These  objections  are  based  upon  one  or  two  main  points. 

1.  That  ignorance  on  this  subject  is  innocence.  There 
is  an  “innocence”  which  proceeds  from  ignorance.  A 
mind,  absolutely  blank,  may  be  said  to  be  innocent. 

But  ignorance  does  not  always  mean  an  entire  absence 
of  facts.  More  often  it  means  facts  perverted,  misapplied, 
unrelated.  In  the  old-time  fourth  of  July  celebrations, 
many  a boy  knew  enough  of  the  power  of  explosives  to 
blow  out  his  eyes — or  his  life. 

At  the  very  dawn  of  intelligence  children  begin  to  in- 
quire into  all  sorts  of  problems,  and  of  no  one  of  them 
so  insistently  as  of  the  question  of  sex  and  life.  Absolute, 
total  darkness  on  the  subject  is  impossible,  with  very  rare 
exceptions. 

What  follows  when  primary  facts  of  sex-life  are  learned 
through  distorted  and  perverted  channels — a grain  of  truth 
with  a pound  of  evil?  The  mere  question  suggests  all  the 
horrors  of  a young  imagination,  peopled  with  perverted 
sex  images,  and  ready  to  feed  upon  others  that  follow. 
Such  ignorance  not  only  blinds  the  eyes,  but  destroys  the 
moral  sense  and  power  of  control. 

Many  a child,  before  it  reaches  the  years  of  puberty, 
is  already  a pervert — not  because  it  knows  but  because  it 
does  not  know.  Others  who  miss  the  perilous  path  in  child- 
hood, come  to  it  a little  further  on. 

The  untaught  girl  meets  another — of  her  own — perhaps 
of  the  other  sex,  and  ruin  follows.  The  untaught  boy  en- 
ters a circle  of  other  boys,  a little  older,  and  he  speedily 
becomes  a moral  pervert,  a physical  wreck,  and  a social 
danger. 

2.  The  second  error  is  based  on  the  proposition  that 
knowledge  on  this  subject  suggests  evil. 

Is  that  true?  Does  suggestion  come  of  our  knowledge 


324 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


of  facts,  or  does  it  come  through  ignorance?  Is  there  not 
a conflict  between  right  and  wrong  whenever  knowledge 
faces  evil  suggestion?  Is  not  knowledge  o guard  and  a 
defence  in  the  presence  of  evil? 

The  suggestion  of  evil  in  sex  matters — as  in  anything 
else — does  not  feed  upon  true  knowledge,  but  upon  per- 
verted facts,  filtered  in  from  the  sewer — from  the  slush 
novel;  the  vicious  show  or  dance  hall;  or  the  ignorant  and 
vicious  companion. 

Two  other  questions  follow.  And  upon  them  many  of 
the  best  people  seriously  differ. 

The  first  is  WHEN? 

To  this  question  let  us  give  one  answer — NOW. 

There  is  no  period  in  a human  life  when  the  facts  of 
life  should  be  hidden.  They  may  be  presented  improperly, 
or  out  of  season.  That  is  true  of  any  set  of  facts.  To 
cram  a child’s  mind  with  chemistry,  geography,  or  any 
study,  in  advance  of  its  age,  does  harm  instead  of  good. 

But  as  the  child-mind  develops,  so  as  to  inquire  of 
facts  of  nature — be  it  the  song  of  birds — the  play  of  lambs 
— the  birth  of  a kitten ; or  the  coming  of  a baby,  every 
inquiry  should  be  welcome.  There  should  be  no  forbidden 
question.  The  question  of  the  child  may  be  put  off  to  a 
more  convenient  season,  but  the  door  should  never  be 
closed  upon  the  subject  as  a forbidden  one. 

Once  let  a child  lose  confidence  in  Mother,  or  Father, 
as  the  true  sources  of  first  hand  knowledge,  on  questions 
which  its  very  nature  prompts,  and  it  will  seek  the  answer 
at  the  earliest  moment  from  some  less  fastidious,  but 
wholly  dangerous  source. 

And  this  is  just  as  true  of  a growing  hoy  or  girl  as  of 
a little  child.  The  girl  who  cannot  get  the  meaning  of 
her  changing  life  from  mother  or  father,  will  try  to  get 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


325 


it  elsewhere.  The  boy  who  finds  his  father  as  close  as  a 
clam,  on  subjects  which  are  burning  in  his  adolescent 
mind  will  inquire,  where  he  will  receive — not  knowledge 
— but  perverted,  poisoned,  unwholesome  facts.  And  if 
these  young  people,  in  the  dawn  of  their  manhood  and 
womanhood,  find  also  that,  at  school,  every  question  of 
physiology,  biology,  or  anatomy  is  closed,  the  moment  the 
study  reaches  to  the  human  race,  and  every  book,  treating 
of  the  subject,  is  locked  from  them,  they  will  feel  that  they 
are  driven  to  discuss  it  in  ways  that  are  secret  and  in 
places  that  are  dark.  Such  young  people  are  ripe  sub- 
jects for  suggestive  books,  and  the  advertising  pamphlets 
of  quacks,  or  for  the  still  more  vile  prints  that  are  secretly 
circulated  under  sealed  covers. 

The  third  question  is — HOWf 

How  shall  we  teach  race,  or  sex  hygiene? 

The  answer  is — exactly  as  we  teach  any  other  subject 
— frankly,  simply,  truthfully. 

Primary  facts  are  for  primary  scholars,  on  this,  as  on 
any  other  subject.  The  primary  teacher  is  the  mother. 
She  it  is  that  must  instill  the  first  truths  in  the  minds  of 
her  child;  and  every  sane  mother  can  tell  her  child  the 
initial  truths  of  ordinary  domestic,  religious,  or  nature- 
life — up  to  the  standard,  or  measure  of  her  experience,  or 
training.  She  cannot  do  more;  but  this  she  should  be  en- 
couraged to  do. 

Generally  speaking,  on  other  subjects,  mothers,  do  this. 
As  the  child  asks,  mother  will  tell  the  little  child  what 
she  knows  about  fire  and  water.  She  will  tell  it  that  fire 
burns  and  destroys  as  well  as  warms  and  comforts — that 
a knife  is  sharp  and  will  cut  the  fingers,  that  food  can  he 
cooked  in  several  ways  and  that  pain  may  be  relieved 


326 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


by  simple  medicines,  but  that  some  medicines  are  poisonous 
and  dangerous. 

She  will  tell  the  child  about  God  and  Heaven,  Right 
and  Wrong,  according  to  the  measure  of  her  own  faith, 
or  training.  She  will  tell  that  when  summer  comes,  and 
the  sun  shines,  and  the  rains  fall,  there  will  be  grass  and 
flowers,  and  trees  and  fruits.  If  she  lives  in  the  country 
she  will  tell  of  the  birds  with  their  young,  and  the  kittens, 
and  fowls,  and  the  lambs. 

But  let  the  child  ask  an  initial  or  primary  question 
about  human  life  and  the  mother  closes  up.  “Run  away 
now  Dorothy — you  must  not  ask  such  questions!” 

What  parents  need  most  is  a knowledge  of  the  essen- 
tial, initial  truths,  and  guidance  as  to  how  to  impart  those 
truths.  And  what  school  pupils  need,  is  instruction  in 
causes  and  effects — in  the  things  that  lead  to  a higher 
moral  conception  of  the  realness  of  life  and  the  dignity  of 
the  race  continuing  process. 

Boys  can  be  taught  as  hoys,  to  reverence  motherhood 
and  honor  all  women — that  an  insult  to  any  girl  should  be 
treated  by  every  boy  as  though  she  were  his  sister.  They 
can  be  taught  that  life  is  from  within  and  that  the  law  of 
sex  is  the  same  in  the  human  race  as  in  other  forms  of 
life.  They  need  instruction  as  to  the  dangers  of  certain 
secret  actions,  and  the  wrong  of  unclean  thoughts  and 
language. 

Girls  can  be  taught  the  meaning  of  their  changing 
physical  life,  and  the  functions  and  sacredness  of  mother- 
hood. They  can  be  taught  that  the  body  is  a holy  temple 
of  generation,  and  that  to  tamper  with  it,  or  neglect  it, 
is  to  demoralize  and  destroy  it. 

Under  the  question  of  ‘ ‘ How  to  Teach  1 ’ ’ nothing  is  per- 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


327 


haps  so  important,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  as  the  in- 
culcation of  right  mental  and  moral  attitude. 

This  is  the  first  essential  thing  in  the  premises : If  the 
attitude  is  right  the  average  parent  will  not  pronounce 
themselves  incapable  of  giving  initial  and  essential  facts  to 
their  own  children. 

The  play  called  “The  Blindness  of  Virtue”  was  based 
upon  the  commonly  inherited  superstition  that  this  is  a 
subject  which  cannot  be  spoken — an  error  which  has  grown 
with  generations  of  prudery  and  hypocrisy,  until  intelli- 
gent parents  allow  their  children  to  grow  to  the  danger 
line  and  to  enter  life’s  most  serious  obligations  and  re- 
sponsibilities blindly.  In  the  play  the  heads  of  a family, 
are  a scholarly  clergyman  and  his  cultured  wife.  Their 
daughter  is  carefully  shielded  from  contact  with  society ; 
and  from  every  avenue  of  knowledge  she  is  closely  guarded. 
She  reaches  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  does  not  know  the 
meaning  of  her  adolescent  yearnings;  nor  does  she  under- 
stand the  need  of  natural  reserve,  when  she  falls  in  love 
with  a young  man  whom  her  father  has  received  into  his 
home  as  a private  student.  The  result  is  a shock  and  a 
tragedy. 

The  play  may  represent  an  extreme  of  circumstantial 
life  among  cultured  people,  but  it  is  absolutely  true  in  its 
meaning  and  lessons.  Not  merely  untaught  mothers  and 
fathers;  but  cultured,  educated,  parents,  deny  all  informa- 
tion to  their  children — not  because  they  cannot  give  it, 
but  because  they  have  accepted  the  conventional  altitude 
of  silence,  secrecy,  and  false  modesty. 

The  facts  related  by  Judge  Julian  Mack  of  Cook 
County  Juvenile  Court  ought  to  awaken  the  keenest  con- 
cern on  the  part  of  parents.  The  saddest  thing  about 


328 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


these  terrible  revelations  is  that  they  are  typical  of  many 
such  cases,  known  in  every  Juvenile  Court. 

“During  a three-years’  experience  as  judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  in  Cook  County  there  came  before  me  several  hundred 
cases  of  girls,  ranging  in  age  from  seven  to  eighteen  years, 
every  one  of  whom  had  made  a misstep.  Their  pitiful  stories 
have  impressed  upon  me  the  vital  importance  of  two  funda- 
mental duties  that  fathers  and  mothers  owe  to  their  children; 

. First,  that  parents  should  at  all  times,  from  earliest  child- 
hood, have  that  priceless  possession,  the  genuine  confidence  of 
their  child;  a confidence  which  will  cause  the  child  not  merely 
to  obey,  but  also  to  trust  and  to  feel  implicitly  that  the  parent 
is  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  the  best  friend, 
the  most  constant  companion,  and  the  wisest  and  most  willing 
adviser. 

Second,  that,  in  order  to  earn  and  to  deserve  this  con- 
fidence, parents  must  be  frank  in  responding  to  the  natural 
inquiries  of  their  child;  yea,  more,  they  must  divine  the 
unspoken  question  at  the  right  time,  and  answer  it  clearly 
and  in  a manner  that  will  invite  further  questions  as  the 
child  develops  into  young  womanhood. 

I know  the  difficulties  involved  in  this,  even  for  the  more 
intelligent  and  educated  parents.  But  I know  only  too  well 
that  too  many  parents  live  in  a fools’  paradise  of  belief  that 
their  silence  spells  ignorance  and  innocence  on  the  part  of 
the  children. 

It  cannot  be  too  emphatically  repeated  that  every  child 
mingling  with  other  children,  whether  in  private  or  in  public 
schools,  is  going  to  learn  much  even  at  the  age  of  ten,  and, 
in  circles  in  which  children  are  not  carefully  guarded,  even 
as  early  as  seven.  The  words  picked  up,  the  thoughts  awakened, 
arouse  the  inquiring  mind.  If  the  silent  inquiry  be  felt  and 
responded  to  by  the  parents  a relation  is  established  which, 
developed  by  mutual  confidences,  throws  a protecting  mantle 
over  the  little  one  that  in  many  cases  will  guard  her  for  life. 
If  the  spoken  or  unspoken  query  be  avoided  or  checked  the 
first  barrier  is  raised,  which,  followed  by  the  conventional 
story,  easily  and  quickly  discovered  to  be  untrue,  destroys  the 
child’s  faith  in  her  mother.  This  may  close  her  lips  for  all 


329 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 

time  and  turn  her  to  those  who  are  always  within  reach  and 
are  only  too  ready  to  initiate  her  not  only  into  a complete 
knowledge  of  but  also  into  an  experiment  with  the  mysteries 
of  life. 

Whenever  a number  of  school  children  are  in  court  for 
these  wrongs  one  leader  among  the  girls  has  invariably  been 
found  responsible  for  spreading  the  trouble.  The  boys  instinc- 
tively recognize  the  difference  in  girls  and  know  which  are 
possible  victims  and  which  are  not.  From  one  of  the  schools 
located  in  an  excellent  region  of  Chicago  came  a girl  of 
seventeen  years  of  age.  Her  parents  were  an  old  couple,  her 
sister  a trained  nurse  and  her  brother  an  excellent  business 
man.  This  seventeen-year-old  girl  was  the  baby  of  the  family 
and  in  their  eyes  an  innocent  child,  the  object  of  universal 
love.  The  family  never  suspected  that  instead  of  visiting  one 
of  her  girl  schoolmates  after  supper,  as  she  said  she  did,  she 
was  keeping  an  appointment  with  some  of  the  neighborhood 
boys.  Her  influence  led  at  least  three  other  girls  of  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  to  follow  in  her  footsteps.  Two  of  her  in- 
timate friends  were  twins  of  the  age  of  flfteen,  and  one  took 
the  keenest  pleasure  in  these  clandestine  meetings.  The  other 
twin  knew  practically  nothing  about  them,  as  not  only  the 
boys,  but  even  the  girls,  recognized  her  innate  modesty  and 
refrained  from  mentioning  them  in  her  presence.  The  boys 
told  me  that  they  would  be  ashamed  and  afraid  to  make  an 
indelicate  suggestion  in  her  presence,  while  they  hesitated  at 
nothing  in  the  presence  of  the  other  twin  and  her  companions. 

None  of  these  girls  had  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the 
physical  consequences  of  their  acts.  They  all  realized,  of 
course,  that  they  were  disobeying  and  deceiving  their  parents 
and  otherwise  doing  wrong,  but  not  one  of  them  had  ever  been 
told  anything  about  the  origin  of  human  life.  As  to  whether 
this  knowledge  would  have  protected  them  or  not  I cannot 
be  sure,  but  I believe,  from  my  conversations  with  them  and 
with  their  parents,  that  it  would  have  done  so.  The  incident 
became  generally  known  in  the  school  and  caused  a complete 
awakening  of  the  parents  in  that  section  of  the  city  to  a 
realization  of  their  obligations.  The  school  is  located  at  the 
border  line  between  a section  occupied  by  fairly  well-to-do 
people  and  a section  occupied  by  the  poorer  classes.  Every  one 


330  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

of  the  boys  and  girls  involved  in  this  trouble  came  from  the 
well-to-do  class. 

In  another  case  some  half  a dozen  boys  and  half  a dozen 
girls  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  thirteen  were  involved.  The 
leader  here,  again,  was  a girl  of  eleven  years.  She  was  one 
of  the  seven  or  eight  children  of  a widow.  This  girl  had  never 
received  the  slightest  instruction  in  these  matters — in  fact,  she 
was  the  victim  of  parental  neglect  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
became  necessary  to  take  her  away  from  home. 

In  a small  suburb  of  Chicago  half  a dozen  high-school  girls 
of  fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age  made  a regular  practice 
of  receiving  a company  of  their  male  fellow-students  at  their 
respective  homes  on  Thursday  afternoons  when  the  mothers 
were  away  attending  their  club  meetings.  These  boys  and  girls 
were  all  of  the  so-called  better  classes  and  the  mothers  were 
intelligent  women.  In  their  club  affairs  these  women  had  dis- 
played an  active  interest  in  communal  welfare,  but  they  had 
forgotten  to  gain  the  full  confidence  of  their  daughters;  not 
one  of  these  girls  had  ever  been  told  anything  of  the  mystery 
of  life,  or  understood  the  physical  consequences  of  her  act. 

A group  of  seven  little  girls,  from  nine  to  twelve  years 
of  age,  were  the  victims  of  a gray-haired  scoundrel,  all  led 
on  by  a child  of  twelve,  the  first  victim,  who  persuaded  the 
others  to  follow  her  example.  Candy  and  a few  pennies  were 
suflS-cient  inducement  in  this  case. 

In  another  case,  a group  of  half  a dozen  girls  of  fourteen 
and  fifteen  years  of  age  made  it  a custom,  after  church  on  Sun- 
day morning,  to  visit  a man  who  gave  them  ice  cream  and 
played  music  for  them,  and  the  parents  thought  that  they 
were  going  for  a walk! 

One  little  girl  of  nine  years  of  age,  who  was  kept  in 
ignorance  of  these  things  by  her  parents,  was  the  victim  of 
more  than  a dozen  boys,  ranging  in  age  from  ten  to  sixteen. 
She  was  a beautiful,  innocent  child. 

A widowed  mother  with  two  beautiful  daughters  of  fifteen 
and  seventeen  made  no  attempt  to  instruct  either  of  them. 
She  was  a weak,  pleasure-loving  woman,  and  the  natural  results 
followed.  Both  girls  were  faithful  attendants  at  Sunday-school 
and  church,  but  were  easy  victims  of  their  school  companions. 
The  younger  girl  was  subsequently  responsible  for  leading  three 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


331 


of  her  girl  Sunday-school  mates  into  like  adventures. 

A mother  disregarded  some  rumors  that  came  to  her  about 
her  eleven-year-old  daughter.  She  pooh-poohed  them,  declar- 
ing that  she  knew  her  child,  and  that  the  child’s  “innocence” 
and  ignorance  were  absolute  protection  to  her.  The  mother’s 
discovery  of  her  mistake  was  something  heartbreaking  to  wit- 
ness.^ 

After  all  it  is  not  so  much  scientific  knowledge  that  is 
needed,  but  simply  the  use  of  the  common  knowledge  which 
most  of  us  possess. 

The  mother  in  the  play  is  like  the  average  moffifer. 
She  has  turned  her  child  away  when  it  craved  to  know; 
and  now  when  the  child  has  become  a budding  woman, 
she  says:  “I  cannot  talk  with  her  on  the  subject.”  The 
same  is  true  of  the  average  father. 

Can  a woman  be  a mother  and  not  know  enough  to 
answer  her  little  girl’s  simple,  primary  questions  on  the 
subject,  as  those  questions  naturally  arise,  which  begin  at 
three  or  four  years  of  age? 

Can  a man  be  a father  and  not  possess  sufficient  knowl- 
edge to  explain  to  his  boy  that  a union  or  marriage  of  the 
two  sexes  is  necessary  to  generation  and  birth,  that  just 
as  the  birds  must  mate,  and  the  boy’s  pet  dog  must  mate, 
so  man  and  woman  mates,  or  marries,  for  off-spring  ? 

Shall  we  perpetuate  the  social  lie;  that  it  is  perfectly 
right  to  teach  the  commerce  of  sexes  among  stock  on  the 
farm,  or  of  domestic  pets  in  the  home,  but  the  extreme 
of  impropriety  to  apply  the  lesson  to  human  beings  ? 
Change  the  attitude,  from  a conspiracy  of  silence,  to  one 
of  open,  simple  truth,  and  the  problem  of  sex  education 
will  be  halfway  solved. 

Ample  and  efficient  scientific  teaching  is  for  the 


^Tbe  Eighth  Yearbook  of  The  National  Society  for  the  Sci- 
entific Study  of  Education. 


332 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


specialist,  and  cannot  be  too  efficient.  But  to  the  masses — 
the  millions — this  is  impossible.  It  is  as  impossible  for 
all  of  us  to  be  physiologists,  as  it  is  for  all  of  us  to  be 
chemists  or  astronomers. 

If  it  were  assumed  that  mothers  could  not  give  the 
first  lesson  in  cooking,  because  they  are  not  chemists,  what 
would  become  of  the  dinner  table  in  the  average  home? 
It  does  not  depreciate  a cook  if  she  is  also  a chemist;  but 
if  it  were  a current  doctrine  that  a mother  could  not  teach 
how  to  make  bread  without  explaining  the  law  of  fermenta- 
tion, how  many  breadmakers  would  there  be  in  the  next 
generation  of  wives  and  mothers? 

If  fathers  cannot  tell  their  boys  the  essential  difference 
and  relation  of  the  sexes,  than  Governor  Dunne’s  action 
in  closing  the  State  University  of  Illinois  against  race 
education  to  future  fathers  and  teachers  is  a crime. 

Again  the  spirit  of  candor  and  frankness  should  enter 
all  forms  of  social  education  on  the  subject.  Books  of 
value  are  not  those  which  in  the  name  of  science,  or  morals, 
revel  in  details  or  enter,  into  descriptive  scenes.  It  may 
help  to  sell  a book  if  a story  of  questionable  deeds  is 
introduced,  or  a picture  of  sex  organs  is  given,  but  the 
value  of  such  a book  depends  upon  its  spirit  and  purpose. 
Any  book  that  is  fit  for  father  or  mother  need  not  be 
locked  away  from  the  child. 

In  my  own  library  no  book  or  picture  was  hidden  from 
the  boys  or  girls,  unless  by  chance  a book  found  its  way 
there  that  I was  ashamed  of,  and  then  I destroyed  it. 
If  a boy  or  girl  found  a book  beyond  their  years  they 
did  not  read  it,  but  when  it  did  appeal  to  them,  they 
would  ask  me  about  it,  and  that  was  my  opportunity. 

Pictures  and  plays  are  either  educational  or  demoraliz- 
ing. They  either  teach  or  degrade.  “September  Morn’’ 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


333 


in  its  beautiful  simplicity,  was  forbidden  to  be  displayed 
in  the  store  windows,  of  Chicago,  but  numerous  ugly  and 
suggestive  burlesques  of  the  picture  are  displayed  every- 
where in  hundreds  of  windows. 

Plays  that  have  no  vicious  purpose  are  censored  and 
suppressed,  for  no  other  apparent  reason  than  that  they 
are  avowedly  directed  against  commercialized  vice.  Some 
of  the  so-called  White  Slave  plays  are  neither  artistic  nor 
accurate,  but  they  offer  no  commendation  of  vice,  and  their 
tendency  is  on  the  whole  to  attack  vice. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  stage  where  vice  is  paraded 
in  suggestive  dress  and  manner;  where  vulgar,  indecent 
dances,  and  songs,  are  given,  that  are  more  than  suggestive ; 
such  theatres  are  allowed  to  advertise  the  most  flagrant 
displays  of  sensual  nakedness.  The  tendency  of  all  this 
is  very  marked. 

“Vice  is  a monster  of  so  frightful  mien, 

As,  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen. 

Yet  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face. 

We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.’’ 

“Essay  of  Man." — Pope. 

Young  people  should  be  taught  that  nature  calls  for 
the  assimilation  of  all  her  secret  forces  for  the  building 
up  of  the  human  body,  and  that  self-restraint  and  con- 
trol are  the  very  essentials  of  good  physical  manhood  and 
womanhood,  as  well  as  of  moral  purity. 

Such  light  as  this,  thrown  upon  the  canvas  that  our 
youth  may  see  it,  will  prepare  them  for  the  manifestation 
of  the  race-continuing  functions,  so  that  they  will  neither 
be  puzzled  nor  frightened,  nor  mislead  by  ignorant  or 
vicious  agencies. 

So  shall  we  develop  a race  of  men  and  women  who 
shall  perpetuate  the  wealth,  the  virtue,  the  glory  of  our 
nation  and  so  may  we  appropriate  the  Spirit  of  the  Poet 


334 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Burns,  in  words  addressed  to  his  own  beloved  Scotland: 
‘ ‘ 0 Scotia ! my  dear,  my  native  soil ! 

For  whom  my  warmest  wish  to  Heaven  is  sent ! 

Long  may  thy  hardy  sons  of  rustic  toil. 

Be  blest  with  health  and  peace  and  sweet  content! 

And  oh ! may  heaven  their  simple  lives  prevent. 

From  luxury’s  contagion,  weak  and  vile! 

Then,  however  crowns  and  coronets  be  rent, 

A virtuous  populace  may  rise  the  while! 

And  stand  a wall  of  fire  around  their  much  love ’d  Isle ! ’ ’ 

RELIGION  AND  CHASTITY. 

The  religious  education  of  the  future  must  place  a 
new  emphasis  upon  chastity.  It  is  a significant  fact  that 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  church  has  been  weakened  in  pro- 
portion to  its  neglect  of  this  principle. 

Christ  did  not  consider  the  soul  and  body  as  separate 
existences  or  separate  interests.  He  had  great  respect 
for  the  body. 

The  Apostle  Paul  emphasized  the  Christ  doctrine  in 
his  appeal  to  “present  your  bodies,  a living  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable.”  The  soul  itself  is  glorified  by  a pure  body. 

Christ  honored  wedding  feasts  and  chose  them  as 
themes  for  some  of  his  parables.  He  showed  himself 
strongly  in  love  of  pure  domestic  life,  both  by  his  habits, 
his  teaching  of  the  purity  of  marriage  and  his  absolute 
disapproval  of  divorce.  So  positive  and  unconditional  was 
his  teaching  on  divorce  that  he  left  no  room  for  doubt 
that  true  chastity  must  determine  the  worth  and  strength 
of  the  marriage  vow. 

The  modern  church  has  ignored  definite  and  honest 
teaching  on  this  subject.  Individual,  personal,  sex-purity 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


335 


is  still  a forbidden  subject  in  the  average  pulpit,  and  in 
the  Bible  School.  The  young  man  is  warned  of  the 
“strange  woman”  but  seldom  indeed  is  the  young  girl 
warned  of  the  seducer,  and  yet  more  seldom  is  any  appeal 
made  for  the  return  or  the  welcome  of  the  penitent 
woman, — more  sinned  against  than  sinning. 

The  church  must  raise  the  standard  of  purity  until 
it  shall  be  a shame  and  reproach  to  any  man  who  sins 
against  womanhood.  Until  it  rises,  in  jts  might  and 
influence,  the  church  must  be  held  responsible  for  the  low 
and  unequal  standard  of  morals.  The  treatment  of  the 
tempter  and  seducer  as  one  who  may  sow  his  wild  oats 
and  then  be  welcomed  as  the  prodigal, — for  whom  the  ^ 
fatted  calf  is  killed,  or,  perhaps,  is  not  even  treated  as  a 
prodigal, — while  the  girl  whom  he  has  degraded,  or  the 
degraded  girls  with  whom  he  has  consorted,  are  rejected 
from  the  home  and  denied  a place  of  repentance,  is  a 
gross  breach  of  the  law  of  God  and  the  tenets  of 
Christianity. 

Churchill  King  has  well  said:  “It  is  one  of  the  most 
puzzling  phenomena  of  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Nations  that  the  just  human  rights  of  woman  should  have 
been  so  slowly  recognized  in  the  face  of  the  plain  implica- 
tions of  the  essential  teachings  of  Christ.  A race  cannot 
rise  a half  at  a time;  and  no  race  can  achieve  what  it 
ought  while  its  wives  and  mothers  are  in  any  degree  de- 
graded, whether  in  Occident  or  Orient,  whatever  is  re- 
quired to  enable  woman  to  come  to  her  fullest  and  highest 
development  must  be  unhesitatingly  granted,  not  only  for 
her  sake,  but  for  that  of  the  whole  race.” 

Not  only  the  underworld,  with  its  thousands  of  men 
and  women  who  cry  ‘ ‘ evil  be  thou  my  good  ’ ’,  but  the  whole 
moral  atmosphere  must  be  purged  of  the  poison  of  the 


336 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“old  and  chartered  lie”,  that  what  is  sin  and  crime  in 
woman  is  but  a light,  venial,  offense  in  man.  It  is  not 
the  sensualist  alone  who  regards  unchastity  as  a man’s 
necessity  and  the  outcast  woman  a necessary  sacrifice.  Men 
who  stand  in  places  of  honor,  and  who  are  regarded  as 
examples  for  the  young,  declare  this  deadly,  unequal, 
and  immoral  doctrine. 

Vice  strikes  the  individual  at  the  very  heart,  and  the 
train  of  consequences  that  follow  is, — as  the  “Scarlet 
Letter” — not  alone  on  the  woman’s  breast,  hut  also  in 
the  heart  of  the  man,  who  is  the  other  and  usually  the 
stronger  and  causative  agent  in  the  breach  of  the  law 
. of  chastity.  Visiting  his  sins  upon  little  “Pearl”,  born 
an  outcast  of  the  infantile  world,  an  imp  of  evil,  emblem 
and  product  of  sin.” 

“What  does  the  scarlet  letter  mean,  mother?” 

• * * “Mother,  why  does  the  minister  keep  his 

hand  over  his  heart?”  * • • 

• • * “Happy  are  ye,  Hester,  that  wear  the  scarlet 

letter  openly  upon  your  bosom.  Mine  burns  in  secret.”^ 

“Something  must  be  done.  Something  will  be  done. 
What  is  done  depends  on  who  does  it — the  church,  or  the 
frenzied  mob.”  In  this  challenge  to  the  Christian  Church, 
Josiah  Strong  presents  a fearful  possible  alternative.  In 
his  thought,  either  the  Christian  Church  must  save  the 
country  in  this  day  of  social  unrest — of  economic  dis- 
turbance— of  moral  infamy — or  there  will  be  decay, 
revolution,  and  possible  dissolution. 

Here  are  weighty  words  for  the  Pastor  and  other 
religious  teachers  from  the  pen  of  Hr.  G.  Stanley  Hall : 

“The  world  presents  probably  no  such  opportunity  to  religion, 
the  moralist,  the  teacher,  the  wise  father,  the  doctor  who  is  also 


’“The  Scarlet  Letter,”  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


337 


a philosopher.  There  is  no  such  state  of  utter  plasticity,  such 
hunger  for  vital  knowledge,  counsel,  sound  advice.  Young  men 
in  other  respects,  headstrong,  obstinate,  self-sufficient,  and  inde- 
pendent, are  here  guided  by  a hint,  a veiled  allusion,  a chance 
word  of  wisdom.  The  wisest  man  I know  in  these  matters  and 
the  most  experienced,  a physician  and  also  a religious  teacher, 
goes  to  audiences  of  young  men  at  the  end  of  the  academic  year, 
who  have  been  unmoved  by  the  best  revivalists,  who  are  losing 
power  just  in  proportion  as  they  neglect  to  know  or  prudishly 
ignore  this  field,  and  wins  men  by  the  score  to  both  virtue  and 
piety.  I have  sat  at  his  feet  and  tried  to  learn  the  secret  of  his 
method.  It  is  simple,  direct,  concise,  and  in  substance  this:  In 
these  overtense  cases  the  mind  must  first  of  all  be  relieved  of 
worry,  and  it  must  be  explained  that  excessive  anxiety  and  at- 
tention are  the  chief  provocative  of  nocturnal  orgasms.  This  is 
itself  often  a cure.  Then  the  assurance  that  such  experiences, 
varying  greatly  with  different  individuals  in  freguency,  are  nor- 
mal, and  that  their  entire  absence  would  be  ominous  for  sexual 
health,  often  comes  as  a gospel  of  joy  to  victims  of  ignorance,  as 
does  the  knowledge  that  their  case  is  common  and  not  unique  and 
exceptional.” 

“Ethical  culture  alone  is  very  inadequate,  and  preaching  or 
evangelistic  work  that  ignores  this  evil  is  unsuccessful.  Religion 
best  meets  these  needs  because  it  deals,  if  true,  with  what  most 
affects  the  life  of  the  young  and  what  is  the  tap-root  of  so  much 
that  is  best  in  them.  Youth  takes  to  religion  at  this  age  as  its 
natural  element.  True  conversion  is  as  normal  as  the  blossom- 
ing of  a flower.  The  superiority  of  Christianity  is  that  its  corner- 
stone is  love,  and  that  it  meets  the  needs  of  this  most  critical 
period  of  life  as  nothing  else  does.  It  is  a synonym  of  maturity 
In  altruism,  and  a religion  that  neglects  this  corner-stone,  that 
is  not  helpful  in  this  crisis,  that  is  not  entered  upon  now  in- 
evitably, is  wanting.  He  is  a poor  psychologist  of  religion  and  a 
worse  Christian  teacher  who,  whether  from  ignorance  or  prudery 
ignores  or  denies  all  this,  or  leaves  the  young  to  get  on  as  best 
they  may.  Sex  is  a great  psychic  power  which  should  be  utilized 
for  religion,  which  would  be  an  inconceivably  different  thing 
without  it,  and  one  of  the  chief  functions  of  the  latter  in  the 
world  is  to  normalize  the  former.  Error  blights  the  very  roots 


338 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


of  piety  in  the  heart,  atrophies  the  home-making  faculties,  and 
kills  enthusiasm  and  altruism.”i 

Talent  and  Money  Needed  : — Here  is  work  for  strong 
men  and  good  women.  Work  which  cannot  be  com- 
placently referred  to  so-called  reformers,  but  which  de- 
mands the  service  of  philanthropists  and  statesmen  to  the 
point  of  sacrifice.  It  calls  for  education,  moral  appeal, 
legislation  and  enforcement  of  law.  To  make  these 
agencies  effective  against  forces  which  have  had  ages  of 
concession,  privilege,  and  profit,  there  is  needed  con- 
secrated wisdom  and  talent,  and  great  resources  to  sus- 
tain them. 

It  is  deplorable  that  while  the  enormity  of  the  physical 
and  moral  evil,  and  the  social  and  national  danger  have 
been  pointed  out  in  thousands  of  masterly  and  over- 
whelming testimonies  there  has  been  so  little  response 
to  the  call  for  money. 

As  yet  this  war  is  almost  without  ammunition, 
especially  in  the  United  States.  A few  of  the  many  who 
have  wealth  have  furnished  means  for  skirmishing,  but 
the  real  conflict  against  the  ignorance,  disease,  and  death, 
which  attend  it,  and  against  the  organized  plunder  of 
the  enemy  is  miserably  furnished  with  supplies  for  the 
war. 

Men  and  women  whose  labors  have  been  unstinted — 
who  shrank  from  no  peril  or  sacrifice — have  thus  far  fought 
the  battles  and  have  often  been  left  to  bear  the  suffering 
and  the  cost. 

An  attack  was  made  upon  a house  of  ill-fame  as  one 
of  the  strongholds  of  vice  in  Chicago.  It  cost  a thousand 
dollars  or  so,  to  bring  the  gatling  gun  of  injunction,  under 
the  common  law,  against  that  house.  Those  who  had  the 


'Adolescence,  G.  Stanley  Hall,  pp.  463,  464. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


339 


wealth  refused  to  help  and  the  man  who  was  mainly 
responsible  for  the  attack  has  been  harassed  in  payment 
of  the  debtd 

Half  a century  ago,  Miss  Mary  Carpenter  of  England 
wrote:  “The  man  who  should  succeed  in  putting  a legal 
restraint  on  prostitution  would  be  entitled  to  deep  gratitude 
and  a reward  as  noble,  at  the  hands  of  the  people,  as  any 
philanthropist  who  ever  made  their  welfare  his  special 
and  successful  study.” 

Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  has  shown  that  “the  attack  must 
be  directed  against  the  three  principal  causes  of  the  pres- 
ent evil  conditions, — first,  against  lust  in  men ; secondly, 
against  the  weakness,  dependence,  mental  deficiency,  and 
lack  of  moral  principle  of  the  women  who  supply  the 
demands  of  men;  thirdly,  against  the  greed  and  depravity 
of  the  wretches  who  maintain  a profitable  commerce  out 
of  this  licentious  demand  and  supply.  ’ 

The  one  thing  lacking  is  the  means  to  carry  these 
weapons  with  full  force  into  the  war.  If  this  be  furnished 
the  conflict  against  the  evil  forces  of  commercialized  vice 
will  speedily  end  in  triumphant  and  complete  victory. 

THE  HEBREW  CHURCH  AROUSED. 

"When  the  Conference  of  Rabbis  assembled  in  the  year  135 
of  the  common  era,  its  members  met  secretly  in  a garret  in  some 
obscure  house  in  the  Palestinian  town  of  Lydda.  They  were  in 
imminent  peril  of  their  lives  by  reason  of  the  cruel  persecutions 
of  the  Roman  Emperor,  Hadrian.  Rabbi  Akiba  was  the  master 
spirit  of  the  assembly.  In  the  circle  sat  such  eminent  rabbis  as 
Tarphon,  Joseph  the  Gallilean,  and  Ishmael.  Theirs  was  not  the 
composure  which  attends  mere  academic  discussion.  With  bated 
breath,  they  argued  the  question  of  life  and  death  which  it  had 

'See  chapter  on  "The  American  Awakening.” 

’Address  at  Buffalo  Fourth  International  Congress  on  Social 
Hygiene,  August,  1913, 


340 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


fallen  to  their  lot  as  the  responsible  leaders  of  the  people  to  de- 
cide; ‘How  far  might  one  go  in  obedience  to  Rome,  transgressing 
the  Thorah  in  order  to  save  one’s  life?’  The  decision  was:  ‘To 
save  one’s  life  all  laws  should  be  deemed  suspended  excepting 
three,  viz.,  those  against  idolatry,  every  form  of  licentiousness, 
and  murder.”^ 

A distinguished  prelate  of  the  English  Episcopal 
church,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  speaks  thus  highly  of 
Hebrew  family  life : 

“To  the  Hebrew  nation  the  family  was  not  only  the 
unit  by  which  its  numbers  were  counted,  but  the  centre 
round  which  all  its  social  and  religious  life  was  gathered. 
Even  now,  as  we  see  in  our  own  East  End,  this  ancient 
people  is  distinguished,  is  marked  by  the  closeness  of  the 
family  tie,  by  the  honor  which  it  pays  to  motherhood, 
by  the  pride  and  care  which  it  takes  in  its  children.  And 
this  is  one  of  the  reasons  of  its  efficiency:  for,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  human  life,  the  efficiency  of  the 
nation  will  depend  upon  its  family  life.  The  sum  of  £iny 
nation’s  capacities  must  be  counted  after  its  families;  it 
is  the  total  of  the  strong,  pure,  healthy  homes  which  it 
contains. — The  Church  Times. 

Advanced  ground  was  claimed  for  the  Jews  by  Dr. 
Berkowitz  in  his  address  to  the  Rabbis  at  the  Charlevoix 
Conference. 

“We  have  been  shamed  and  startled  by  the  recent 
revelation  of  broken  homes.  Is  it  an  illusion  we  have 
been  cherishing  in  holding  fast  our  faith  in  the  resistless 
power  inherent  in  the  sweet  domesticity  of  the  Jewish 
family?  Evils  unknown  and  undreamed  of  in  my  boy- 
hood days  have  of  late  become  increasingly  familiar  in 
Jewish  annals.  Desertions,  divorces,  clandestine  marriages, 

^Quoted  by  Rabbi  Berkowitz  at  the  Conference  of  Rabbis, 
Charlevoix,  Mich.,  July  3,  1910. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


341 


juvenile  delinquency  in  alarming  degree,  prostitution  and 
‘the  White  Slave  traffic,’  all  these  are  new  and  hitherto 
unknown  entries  in  the  calendar  of  transgressions  on  the 
part  of  Jews.  Well  then  may  our  hearts  tremble  and 
somewhat  of  the  solemn  seriousness  that  rested  on  the 
men  assembled  at  Lydda,  now  awaken  in  our  souls.  As  the 
exigencies  of  those  dreadful  Hadrianie  times  demanded  a 
clear,  strong  and  frank  pronouncement  from  the  religious 
leaders,  so  upon  us  is  the  obligation  to  face  this  emergency 
which  is  upon  us  and  confer  together  as  to  how  we  may 
strengthen  and  restore  the  moral  supports  of  our  people 
wherever  they  have  been  weakened.  We  may  well  renew 
the  ordinance  of  Lydda  and  its  vigorous  admonition  against 
those  who  destroy  the  very  foundations  of  the  moral 
life  itself. 

“Ours  is  a double  interest  in  this  painful  matter,  that 
of  citizens  concerned  for  the  honor  of  our  country  and 
that  of  Jews  concerned  for  the  honor  of  our  faith.  Every 
Jewish  organization  has  been  moved  to  denounce  the  evil 
and  take  steps  to  overcome  it.  The  Independent  Order 
of  B’nai  B’rith  has  been  active  in  this  cause.  The  Council 
of  Jewish  Women  has  been  serving  through  its  agents  at 
the  ports,  in  safe-guarding  immigrant  girls.  The  Jewish 
Immigration  Societies  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  else- 
where have  been  exercising  every  vigilance.  In  various 
cities  investigations  have  been  conducted  by  private  organi- 
zations and  by  public  Grand  Juries.  A number  of  trials 
and  convictions  have  been  secured. 

“These  and  other  movements  indicate  how  widespread 
and  how  profound  is  the  agitation,  how  quick  is  the  public 
conscience  and  how  responsive  to  any  appeal  in  behalf  of 
purity.  This  reveals  the  fact  that  we  have  now  come 
to  a remarkable  period  in  the  world’s  progress  along 


342 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


these  lines.  That  progress  is  definitely  set  tovrards  the 
ideal  which  has  been  upheld  by  Israel  from  its  earliest 
history.  ” ^ 

JESUS  AND  woman. 

TVe  do  not  read  of  any  insult  ever  offered  by  woman 
to  Jesus,  or  of  any  slight,  or  discourtesy,  to  woman  by 
Jesus.  His  absolute  purity  was  so  transparent  to  women 
that  they  hailed  him  with  the  deepest  respect  and  reverence 
at  all  times,  in  all  places.  All  his  relations  with  them 
were  attended  with  the  beauty  and  dignity  of  pure 
beneficent  love. 

The  son  of  Mary ! How  delightful  the  love  and  homage 
between-  ]\lother  and  Son!  And  in  the  household  of 
Lazarus,  with  Martha  and  Mary,  how  perfect  the  friend- 
ship ! 

It  was  at  the  behest  of  his  mother  that  he  honored 
the  wedding  feast  with  his  presence  and  performed  the 
first  miracle  recorded  of  him. 

It  was  to  a woman,  much  married  and  socially  dis- 
credited, that  he  declared  the  universal  application  of 
the  spirit  of  worship,  and  to  her  he  announced  his  Messiah- 
ship.  His  disciples  “marvelled  that  he  talked  with  the 
woman.”  and,  by  aU  the  standards  of  Jewish  law  and 
social  custom  it  shocked  them  that  he  conversed  with  a 
Samaritan  woman  of  frail  character.  Not  only  had  “the 
Jews  no  dealings  with  the  Samaritans,”  but  even  had  she 
been  an  orthodox  Jewess,  to  accost  her  in  a public  place 
was  a breach  of  decorum  and  law. 

But  Jesus  swept  away  every  barrier,  and  opened  the 
mind  of  this  woman  to  the  fact  that  equality  of  all  man- 
kind. before  God.  was  only  restricted  by  sin.  “Worship”, 


'Address  at  Conference  of  Rabbis. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


343 


he  showed  her,  was  not  limited  either  to  the  tabernacle 
in  the  mountain,  the  temple  at  Jerusalem;  nor  by  the 
absence  of  a priest. 

That  woman  was  conscious  of  a new  dignity,  a new 
life  flowed  in  her  heart — the  pitcher  which  she  came  to 
All  at  the  well  was  left,  and  the  impulse  of  an  evangel 
filled  her  soul.  She  testified  in  the  city,  of  the  “Prophet” 
who  had  revealed  herself  to  herself. 

In  the  interest  of  women  Christ  enjoined  a marriage 
law,  more  strict  than  that  of  Moses;  yet  he  treated  this, 
erring,  penitent,  woman  with  a beneficent  and  gracious 
tenderness  that  was  wholly  new,  and  absolutely  too  exalted 
and  pure  for  the  critics  or  even  his  disciples  to  under- 
stand. 

Moved  by  that  gracious  manner  which  welcomed  the 
approach  of  all,  and  especially  of  women,  one  entered  a 
room  where  Jesus  was  entertained  and  wept  so  copiously 
over  his  travel-stained  feet  that,  in  lieu  of  a towel,  she 
wiped  them  with  her  abundant  hair.  The  Pharisee  who 
was  entertaining  Jesus,  in  a haughty  spirit  of  curiosity 
murmured  to  himself,  “This  man,  if  he  were  a prophet, 
would  have  known  who  and  what  manner  of  woman  this 
is  that  toucheth  him ; for  she  is  a sinner.  ’ ’ 

And  Jesus  answered  with  a parable  which,  while  it 
admitted  that  the  woman  was  a sinner,  inspired  her  with 
a new  sense  of  hope  and  virtue.  It  also  expounded  the 
doctrine  of  forgiveness  with  a fulness  of  application  to  her 
own  case:  “Her  sins  which  are  many  are  forgiven,  for 
she  loved  much.”  “That  woman  who  had  dried  with 
her  hair  the  feet  she  had  bathed  in  grateful  tears  raised 
her  whole  sex  to  a higher  level.  ’ 

Even  more  significant  was  the  treatment  of  the  woman 


*Ecce  Homo. 


344 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


taken  to  Jesus  for  judgment.  It  is  only  recorded  that  he 
wrote  once,  and  then  in  the  dust.  What  he  wrote  is  not 
stated.  But  he  who  reads  the  story,  as  it  is  written,  may 
supply  the  words  which  entered,  as  a swift  messenger, 
the  consciences  of  those  men  whose  moral  obliquity  was 
so  dense,  and  whose  sense  of  equity  and  decency  was  so 
obscure  that,  while  arresting  the  woman  and  subjecting 
her  to  the  humiliation  and  disgrace  of  a public  charge, 
in  the  presence  of  men  only,  they  had  taken  no  notice  of 
the  man  who  sinned  with  her. 

“And  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  brought  unto  him  a woman 
taken  in  adultery;  and  when  they  had  set  her  in  the  midst, 

“They  said  unto  Him,  Master,  tliis  W’oman  was  taken  in 
adultery,  in  the  very  act. 

“Now  Moses  in  the  law  commanded  us,  that  such  should 
be  stoned,  but  what  sayest  thou? 

“This  they  said,  tempting  him,  that  they  might  have  to 
accuse  him.  But  Jesus  stooped  down,  and  with  his  finger 
wrote  on  the  ground,  as  though  he  heard  them  not. 

“So  when  they  continued  asking  him,  he  lifted  up  him- 
self, and  said  unto  them,  ‘He  that  is  without  sin  among  you, 
let  him  first  cast  a stone  at  her.’ 

“And  again  he  stooped  down,  and  wrote  on  the  ground. 

“And  they  which  heard  it,  being  convicted  by  their  own 
conscience,  went  out  one  by  one,  beginning  at  the  eldest,  even 
unto  the  last;  and  Jesus  was  left  alone,  and  the  woman  stand- 
ing in  the  midst. 

“When  Jesus  had  lifted  up  himself,  and  saw  none  but  the 
woman,  he  said  unto  her,  ‘Woman,  where  are  those  thine  ac- 
cusers? Hath  no  man  condemned  thee?’  ’’ 

“He  had  refused  to  judge  a tvoman,  but  he  had  judged 
a tyhole  crowd. 

In  other  recorded  events,  we  notice  the  distinguishing 
love  of  women  totvards  Jesus.  The  story  of  Mary  of 


'Ecce  Homo. 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


345 


Magdala  has  reached  all  ends  of  the  world  and  given  a 
name  to  the  noblest  charity  which  seeks  the  redemption 
of  woman  from  the  deepest  social  disgrace  and  the  darkest 
pit  of  soul  loss.  “It  has  given  to  Christian  art  the  figure 
of  Magdalene  which,  when  contrasted  with  the  Venus 
of  Greek  sculpture,  represents  a very  palpable  change 
which  Christ  has  wrought  in  the  moral  feelings  of  man- 
kind with  respect  to  women. 

It  was  probably  this  same  Mary  who  thought  the  most 
costly  ointment  not  too  rich  a gift  for  the  head  and  feet 
of  Jesus,  and  she  gained  immortal  memorial. 

It  was  another  woman — Martha — who  went  to  meet 
Him  when  her  brother  had  died  and  to  whom  He  de- 
clared the  doctrine  of  resurrection. 

“A  woman  was  first  at  the  tomb,  the  first  to  see  the 
the  risen  Christ,  the  first  to  believe  on  him  and  the  first 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  resurrection.”^ 

Here  is  the  most  significant  fact  in  all  Christ’s  ethical 
teachings.  While  every  great  principle  of  equity  and 
love  is  embodied  in  his  doctrines,  on  this  one  subject  only 
he  gave  repeated,  concrete,  illustrations.  He  showed  that 
there  is  no  sex  in  sin ; that  man  and  woman  stand  equally 
guilty  in  any  sinful  act.  There  is  no  room  in  the  moral 
standard,  as  recognized  by  Christ,  for  a condemnation  of 
woman  that  is  not  equally  a condemnation  of  man.  Re- 
demption of  woman  is  as  real  and  as  complete  as  redemp- 
tion of  man.  The  woman  who  is  forgiven  is  forgiven  much, 
and  as  fully  as  man.  When  Jesus  is  the  judge  a redeemed 
woman  returns  to  home  and  society  on  precisely  the  same 
terms  as  a redeemed  man.  Yet  he  gave  no  parable  of  a 
“prodigal  daughter.”  Down  to  his  day,  and  to  the 

‘Ecce  Homo. 

-“The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus.”  Matthews. 


346 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


present  day,  society  has  joined  the  father  in  greeting  the 
returned  prodigal  with  the  best  robe  and  festival.  No 
such  welcome  is  given  to  the  returned  girl,  even  when  her 
fall  is  the  fall  of  a victim,  and  not  that  of  a wilful 
prodigal. 

Christ  showed  how  unjust  this  is.  He  welcomed 
Magdalene  into  the  inner  circle  of  his  friendship,  and  as 
if  to  emphasize  his  attitude  on  the  subject,  he  gave  a spe- 
cial message  of  pity  and  welcome  to  each  of  the  sinful 
women  who  came  to  him,  and  that  one  who  was  disgrace- 
fully brought  to  him  by  men,  he  sent  away  with  joy 
and  peace  in  her  heart,  while  her  accusers — hardened  and 
unrepentant — were  made  to  feel  the  sting  of  accusation 
and  judgment. 


THE  SUPREME  APPEAL. 

The  ultimate  issue  of  the  warfare  against  sexual  vice, 
in  all  its  forms,  must  rest  upon  individual  and  social 
purity.  The  appeal  must  finally  be  made  to  morality.  The 
social  evil  is  not  primarily  an  economic  question.  Riches 
do  not  make  men  or  women  pure ; poverty  does  not  imply 
either  vice  or  virtue. 

Nor  is  it  primarily  a question  of  hygiene.  Sanitary 
laws  treat  of  effects,  and  horror  and  fear  of  disease  may 
scare  some  away  from  gross  vice.  But  were  it  possible 
that  any  system  of  regulation  or  medical  prophylaxis 
could  lessen  or  destroy  all  diseases  incident  to  sexual  vice 
it  must  still  be  judged  by  its  relation  to  morals. 

Since  however,  there  can  be  no  conflict  between  morals 
and  health,  or  between  virtue  and  economy,  the  appeal  to 
righteousness  stands  with  the  sanction  and  authority  of 
TRUTH  in  its  eternal  harmony  and  unity. 

Sex  morality,  which  is  order  and  purity,  is  essential 


The  War  and  the  Weapons 


347 


to  goodness.  To  be  a good  man  or  a good  woman  is  to 
be  true  to  sexual  integrity  and  love.  All  other  virtues 
must  be  crowned  with  purity  or  they  are  defiled.  Veracity, 
kindness,  temperance,  love,  are  all  related,  but  sex  im- 
morality bankrupts  them  all.  Lust  is  the  enemy  of  love 
and  the  most  prolific  and  universal  agent  of  discord  and 
moral  degeneracy. 

“When  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin;  and 
sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.” — James 
1:15. 

Lecky  says:  “The  continuance  of  the  species  is  only 
possible  by  a sensual  act.  We  have  an  innate,  instinctive 
perception  that  there  is  something  degrading  in  the  sen- 
sual part  of  our  nature,  something  to  which  a feeling  of 
shame  is  naturally  attached,  something  that  jars  with 
our  conception  of  perfect  purity.”^ 

This  statement  accords  with  Lecky ’s  theory  of  “neces- 
sity” and  is  opposed  to  the  truth  and  purity  of  nature. 
Lexicographers  define  the  word  “sensual”  as  “undue  in- 
dulgence”— “lewdness.”  Lewdness  is  false  to  normal  life 
and  only  conceivable  to  perverted  human  nature.  It  is 
the  language  of  lust,  the  spurious  “love”  which  finds 
expression  in  many  novels,  loose  talk,  songs,  and  plays; 
which  associates  the  thought  of  sex  union  with  sensualism. 

Undue,  unwedded,  or  intemperate,  indulgence  is  not 
necessary  to  the  continuance  of  the  species.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  productive  of  degeneracy  and  weakness.  It  may 
be  safely  asserted  that  in  the  degree  that  the  sexual  act 
is  governed  by  love  and  the  natural  desire  for  family,  there 
is  an  absence  of  lewdness,  or  sensuality. 

The  “feeling  of  shame”  alluded  to  by  Lecky,  is  a 
product  of  the  thought  which  lust  and  sin  have  made 


lEuropean  Morals.  Vol.  I.,  pp.  105-6. 


348 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


current  in  much  of  human  society.  In  proportion  to  the 
pure  atmosphere  of  home,  or  of  any  other  social  circle, 
there  is  an  absence  of  the  sense  of  shame  in  marital  rela- 
tions. As  the  virgin  woman  is  pure,  so  also  is  the  new 
mother.  The  romance — the  secret  agitation  of  mother- 
hood may  be  accompanied  with  a blush,  but  it  is  not  a 
blush  of  shame.  It  is  the  sense  of  a new  birth,  filling  her 
with  wonder  and  mystery.  Ashamed!  No.  If  there  is  a 
remnant  of  shame  in  the  expectant  new  life,  it  is  a shame 
occasioned  by  the  social  wreckage  of  pure  ideals,  expressed 
in  vulgar  observation  and  terms.  Does  any  normal  man 
or  woman  feel  a sense  of  shame  when  looking  into  the 
face  of  a child,  born  of  natural  and  honorable  alliance? 
Does  any  young  mother  feel  ashamed  of  motherhood? 

On  the  other  hand  no  person,  living  in  a civilized 
country,  can  part  with  the  pearl  of  chaste  life,  or  wedded 
purity  without  more  or  less  of  a sense  of  loss.  To  woman, 
especially  comes  the  consciousness  of  such  loss,  whether 
it  is  stolen  from  her  by  force — or  yielded  amidst  seductive 
pleasures.  Shakspeare  has  expressed  this  thought  in  the 
“Rape  of  Lucrece”  after  she  has  been  rified  of  her  honor 
by  Tarquin : 

“The  light  will  show,  character’d  in  my  brow 
The  story  of  sweet  chastity’s  decay. 

The  impious  breach  of  holy  wedlock  vow ; 

Yea,  the  illiterate,  that  know  not  how 
To  cipher  what  is  writ  in  learned  books. 

Will  quote  my  loathsome  trespass  in  my  looks.’’ 

Virtue  is  not  ignorance,  nor  is  it  innocence;  it  is  the 
virile  quality  of  control — the  mastering  of  self,  the  direc- 
tion of  force  to  the  highest  point.  This  is  the  ethical  law 
applied  to  the  individual,  and  every  great  author,  poet,  and 


The  War  and  Its  Weapons 


349 


artist,  treats  it  as  the  essence  of  social  morality.  Yet 
men  langh  at  personal  purity  as  a thing  not  normal,  and 
the  majority  of  men  do  not  accept  it  as  a practicable 
virtue. 

This  “choice”  of  life  and  death  are  not  spiritual  or 
ethical  terms  only.  When  a man  makes  a choice  of  evil, 
he  chooses  death — physical  as  well  as  moral; — witness  the 
physical  diseases  which  attend  sensual  sin.  There  is  no 
surer  mark  of  the  external  law  of  “life  and  good”  and 
“death  and  evil”,  than  in  the  certain  attendant  effects 
of  virtue,  on  the  one  hand,  and  vice  on  the  other  hand, 
in  relation  to  sex  life. 

“The  whole  period  of  youth  is  one  essentially  of  formation, 
edification,  instruction.  There  is  not  an  hour  of  it  hut  is  trem- 
bling with  destinies — not  a moment  of  which,  once  past,  the  ap- 
pointed work  can  ever  he  done  again,  or  the  neglected  blow  struck 
on  cold  iron.  Take  your  vase  of  Venice  glass  out  of  the  furnace 
and  strew  chaff  over  its  transparent  heat  and  recover  that  to  its 
clearness  and  rubied  glory  when  the  north  wind  has  blown  upon 
it;  but  do  not  think  to  strew  chaff  over  the  child  fresh  from 
God’s  presence,  and  to  bring  the  heavenly  colors  back  to  him — at 
least  in  this  world.”  John  Ruskin. 

The  potentiality  and  value  of  all  life  is  vested  in  its 
power  of  self-perpetuation  through  sex.  All  life  is  pro- 
creative.  Flowers  and  trees,  corn  and  fruits  possess  in 
their  sex  unity, — the  life-germ  of  coming  harvests. 

Birds  and  cattle  mate  for  the  parentage  of  their  kind. 
Nature  has  determined  this,  for  all  other  life,  through 
instinct.  And  in  doing  this,  great  nature  has  fixed  their 
limitations. 

But  to  mankind  is  given  the  power  to  direct  and  con- 
trol this  force  of  reproductive  life.  Here  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing quality  of  the  human  race.  The  choice  of 
parentage — the  control  of  sex  attraction,  is  the  supreme 


350 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


power  which  exalts  mankind  into  the  realm  of  a moral 
world.  Nothing  determines  a man’s  moral  character  or 
a woman’s  virtue  as  does  the  control  of  sex,  in  love  and 
unity,  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race.  One  feels  that 
however  good  man  or  woman  may  be — in  other  respects 
if  they  degrade  their  sex  life,  they  are  not  moral. 

This  supreme  choice,  if  uncontrolled,  reduces  man  to 
a creature  more  despicable  than  the  most  repulsive  of 
beasts — generating  diseases  and  resulting  in  conduct  that 
are  unknown  in  the  brute  world. 

The  true  conception  of  this  lofty  function  should  be 
made  known  to  every  boy  and  girl.  They  should  be  taught 
that  this  power  which  is  capable  of  yielding  the  highest 
of  all  physical  pleasure  and  becomes  the  sacred  seal  and 
pledge  of  love,  will  be  weakened  or  destroyed,  and  will 
become  as  a whip  of  scorpions,  if  it  is  not  made  the  base 
of  a moral  quality,  which  is  virtue. 

Ruskin  traces  every  good  thing  to  moral  purity.  “A 
bad  woman  may  have  a sweet  voice,  but  that  sweetness  of 
voice  comes  of  the  past  morality  of  her  race.  That  she 
can  sing  with  it  at  all  she  owes  to  the  determination  of 
laws  of  music  by  the  morality  of  the  past.  Every  act, 
every  vice,  affects  in  any  creature,  face,  voice,  nervous 
power,  and  vigor  and  harmony  of  invention,  at  once.  Per- 
severance in  righteous  human  conduct,  renders,  after  a 
certain  number  of  generations,  human  art  possible ; every 
sin  clouds  it,  be  it  ever  so  little  a one ; and  pernicious, 
vicious  living  and  following  of  pleasure  render,  after  a 
certain  number  of  generations,  all  art  impossible.” 

Philosophers  differ  as  to  the  bases  and  meaning  of 
morals,  but  human  experience,  religion  and  law,  agree 
that  it  rests  upon  the  power  of  choice. 

“See  I have  set  before  thee  this  day,  life  and  good. 


The  War  and  Its  Weapons 


351 


and  death  and  evil;  therefore  choose  life,  that  thou  and 
thy  seed  may  live.”  Duet.  30:15.  Prof.  W.  James  says, 
“When  this  challenge  comes  to  us  it  is  simply  our  total 
character  and  personal  genius  that  are  on  trial. 

The  crowning  glory  of  man  is  that  his  character  de- 
pends upon  his  power  to  “choose  life”.  Were  man  only 
animal,  his  self-propagating  force  would  be  governed  by 
instinct.  But  in  endowing  man  with  the  choice  of  “life 
or  death,”  and  giving  him  control  over  the  springs  and 
perpetuty  of  life,  the  Creator  has  established  the  founda- 
tion of  man’s  moral  character.  This  is  a essential.  A man 
or  woman  possessing  every  other  virtue,  and  missing  this, 
is  a moral  leper. 

Not  only  all  history,  but  science  also,  recognize  the 
choice  of  the  pure  stream  of  life,  untainted  by  sensual  vices, 
as  an  essential  contribution  to  the  perfect  quality  of  the 
vital  fluid,  alike  in  the  moral  and  the  physical  being. 

Shakspeare  speaks  the  current  thought  when  he  makes 
a woman  say: 

“My  chastity  is  the  jewel  of  our  house. 

Bequeathed  down  from  many  ancestors ; 

Which  were  the  greatest  obloquy  in  the  world 
For  me  to  lose.”^ 

The  truth  is  the  same,  without  distinction  of  sex. 
Greater  than  intellect,  fame,  or  wealth,  is  the  jewel  of  per- 
sonal chasteness.  However,  much  we  may  differ  in  our 
definition  of  morality,  we  are  agreed  that  there  is  in  man 
and  woman  a moral  center,  based  upon  control  of  this 
fountain  of  life — to  depart  from  which  is  to  lose  the 
“jewel”. 


^“The  will  to  believe.”  p.  214. 
’•‘All’s  Well.” 


352 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


An  Epoch  making  book  comes  to  hand  after  these  pages  were 
written.  It  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  teacher  of  youth, 
whether  in  school,  college,  or  Bible  class.  The  author  claims  for 
“chastity”  the  same  active  qualities  which  is  here  shown  to  belong 
to  virtue.  He  says: 

“Chastity  surely  means  nothing  without  some  temptation  to 
be  unchaste.  It  is  as  soulless  and  dead  as  the  ‘courage’  of  those 
who  are  not  aware  of  danger,  or  the  ‘temperance’  of  those  who 
hate  the  taste  of  liquor.  In  frigid  people  the  absence  of  sexual 
sin  is  no  more  virtuous  than  the  absence  of  hair  on  a bald  head. 
Purity,  like  health  or  peace,  may  be  an  accident  or  an  apathy.  It 
may  be  the  fruit  of  heroic  victories.  Only  the  Eternal  knows. 
No  acquaintance  with  a man’s  daily  doings  reveals  anything  de- 
cisive about  the  matter.  Statistics  and  science,  when  asked  to 
testify,  have  other  engagements.  Hence  no  one  will  ever  be  able 
justly  to  indict  half  the  human  race  till  a measure  of  temptation 
as  well  as  of  temperature  is  invented.  With  such  an  instrument 
who  knows  how  many  zero  readings  would  be  registered? 

We  cannot  praise  chastity  as  the  abstention  from  certain 
acts,  for  then  normal  marriage  would  be  unchaste.  We  cannot 
praise  it  as  the  innocence  of  evil,  for  without  temptation  there 
can  be  no  virtue.  Chastity  must  mean  victory  over  the  enemy, 
not  ignorance  of  his  strength.  We  must  feel  the  temptation  and 
overcome  it.  By  what  power?  By  cultivating  the  highest  type 
of  personal  relation  to  which  we  can  attain.  Whatever  person, 
book,  game,  or  art  wakes  us  to  admire  or  to  approximate  heroism 
in  personal  relations  discourages  unchastity,  for  heroism  in  per- 
sonal relations  is  the  basis  of  all  genuine  chastity. 

By  the  consecration  of  affection  we  gain  victory  over  the 
lower  or  impersonal  affection.  We  do  not  eliminate  the  enemy  al- 
together, but  we  prevent  his  dwelling  on  our  territory.  For  un- 
chastity is  domination  by  the  impersonal  love  of  sex  rather  than 
by  love  of  an  individual.  Such  domination  (inside  or  outside 
marriage)  disorganizes  soul  and  body  even  when  no  visible  act 
of  unchastity  is  committed.  A certain  type  of  day-dreaming  and 
novel-reading  may  disintegrate  and  ruin  character  more  hope- 
lessly than  prostitution.”  Dr.  Richard  C.  Cabot;  “What  Men  Live 
by.” 


“Surely  a day  is  coming  when  it  will  be  known  again 
what  virtue  is  in  purity  and  conscience  of  life;  how  di- 
vine is  the  blush  of  young  human  cheeks;  how  high, 
beneficent,  sternly  inexorable,  if  forgotten,  is  the  duty 
laid,  not  on  women  only,  but  on  every  creature,  in  re- 
gard to  these  particulars?  Well,  if  such  a day  never  come 
again,  then  I perceive  much  else  will  never  come.  Mag- 
nanimity and  depth  of  insight  will  never  come;  heroic 
purity  of  heart  and  eye ; noble,  pious  valor,  to  amend  us 
and  the  age  of  bronze  and  lacquer — how  can  they  ever 
come?  The  scandalous  bronze-lacquer  age  of  hungry 
animalisms,  spiritual  impotencies  and  mendacities,  will 
have  to  run  its  course  till  the  Pit  swallow  it.” — -Carlyle. 

“A  race  cannot  rise  a half  at  a time ; and  no  race  can 
achieve  what  it  ought  while  its  wives  and  mothers  are  in 
any  degree  degraded,  whether  in  Occident  or  Orient, 
whatever  is  required  to  enable  woman  to  come  to  her 
fullest  and  highest  development  must  be  unhesitatingly 
granted,  not  only  for  her  sake,  but  for  that  of  the  whole 
race.”— Churchill  King. 

“We  are  fast  learning  in  every  part  of  America  that 
we  men  cannot  hold  another  man  down  in  the  ditch 
without  remaining  in  the  ditch  with  him.” — Booker  T. 
Washington. 


APPENDICES 


1.  A Constructive  Policy — Judge  Olson.  .355 

2.  Prostitution  in  Europe — A Review. . . .369 

3.  Sanger’s  History  of  Prostitution — New 

Appendix — A Criticism 383 

4.  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law 387 

6.  Pandering  Act 391 

6.  Chart  of  Laws  Against  Prostitution. . .392 

7.  The  White  Slave  Traffic  Act 394 

8.  Regulation  Law — Immigration 398 

9.  Bulletin  of  Georgia  Campaign 400 


APPENDIX  I. 


A CONSTRUCTIVE  POLICY  WHEREBY  THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 
MAY  BE  REDUCED 

AN  ADDRESS  BY 

Harry  Olson,  Chief  Justice  Municipal  Court,  Chicago. 

Under  the  supervision  of  the  Chief  of  Police  and  the  Com- 
missioner of  Health  of  the  city,  a sub-committee  of  the  Chicago 
Vice  Commission,  of  which  I was  a member,  in  1911,  in  the 
course  of  its  investigation,  visited  a famous  house  of  ill-repute 
in  Chicago,  which  had  been  run  openly  for  many  years,  despite 
the  laws  of  both  city  and  state.  It  was  kept  by  a woman  who 
was  able,  intelligent  and  without  conscience.  She  could  cope 
with  the  Chief  of  Police  or  cover  up  a murder  with  equal  facil- 
ity. She  answered  all  the  requirements  that  one  could  conceive 
the  devil’s  wife,  if  he  had  one,  might  possess.  So  bold  had 
she  become,  by  reason  of  immunity  from  prosecution,  that  she 
issued  circulars  containing  views  of  the  rooms  of  her  house. 
It  was  reported  that  this  woman  had,  among  the  inmates  in  her 
house,  graduates  of  well-known  women’s  colleges.  The  com- 
mittee made  especial  inquiry  of  the  inmates,  some  thirty  in 
number,  who  were  brought  before  it  separately,  as  to  their 
schooling,  age  at  entry  into  the  life,  and  as  to  the  prevalence 
of  the  black  plague  and  other  diseases.  The  rumors  regarding 
the  education  of  these  women  were  not  well-founded.  Our  in- 
quiries showed  that  not  a single  girl  in  the  house  had  passed 
the  grammar  school  grades;  nearly  all  admitted  having  one 
or  the  other  of  the  venereal  diseases,  and  it  was  plain  that 
some  were  feeble-minded.  All  claimed  to  have  entered  the  life 
of  prostitution  at  early  stages — before  seventeen.  If  this  famous 
house,  reputed  to  be  the  most  elegant  of  its  kind  in  the  country, 
and  which  catered  to  those  with  means,  had  inmates  all  of 
whom  were  ignorant,  most  of  whom  were  diseased,  and  many 
of  whom  were  feeble-minded,  what  could  be  expected  of  the  minor 
houses  in  the  slums? 


356 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


Following  up  this  line  of  inquiry  later,  when  the  Morals 
Court  was  established  in  Chicago  as  a branch  of  the  Municipal 
Court,  where  all  the  cases  of  prostitution  are  brought  to  trial, 
I caused  the  attending  physician  of  the  Morals  Court,  Dr, 
Anna  M.  Dwyer,  to  inquire  of  as  many  of  the  defendants  as 
she  could,  who  were  charged  with  being  public  prostitutes, 
as  to  what  ages  they  had  left  school.  She  has  kept  an  account 
since  the  month  of  April,  1913,  when  the  branch  court  was 
established.  Three  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-six  cases 
have  been  brought  before  Judge  Jacob  H.  Hopkins  of  this  branch 
court  since  April  last.  Dr.  Dwyer  put  her  inquiry  to  564  women. 
She  reports  that  54  women  passed  through  that  court  in  the 
month  of  April,  of  whom  only  two  had  passed  beyond  the  fifth 

grade;  in  May,  87,  one  of  whom  had  passed  beyond  the  fifth 

grade;  in  June,  94,  of  whom  three  had  gone  beyond  the  fifth 

grade;  in  July,  48,  one  of  whom  had  gone  beyond  the  fifth 

grade;  in  August,  58,  only  two  of  whom  had  gone  beyond  the 
fifth  grade;  in  September,  90,  four  of  whom  had  gone  beyond 
the  fifth  grade;  in  October,  63,  four  of  whom  had  gone  beyond 
the  fifth  grade.  These  figures  are  so  startling  that  at  first 
blush  it  seems  they  cannot  be  true.  Dr.  Dwyer  does  not  in- 
clude repeaters  in  her  figures.  She  found  only  one  high  school 
graduate  among  all  the  women  who  passed  through  the  court 
in  a period  of  seven  months.  She  declares  that  of  those  who 
were  above  the  fifth  grade  only  one  came  back  to  the  court  on 
the  second  charge.  Dr.  Dwyer  conducted  physical  examina- 
tions of  all  those  who  were  not  out  on  bonds.  These  numbered 
about  one-half  of  all  those  who  passed  through  the  court.  She 
declares  that  seventy-five  per  cent  of  these  are  affected  with 
venereal  diseases. 

A psychological  study  of  inmates  of  a number  of  adult  and 
juvenile  reformatories  has  recently  been  undertaken  as  re- 
ported by  Dr.  Hastings  H.  Hart  of  the  Russell  Sage  founda- 
tion. He  reports  that  while  psychological  examinations  of  in- 
mates of  reformatories  have  not  yet  produced  accurate  and 
positive  statistics,  and  while  allowance  must  be  made  for  the 
difference  in  the  personal  equation  of  the  examiners,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  definite  standards  have  not  yet  been  established, 
they  have  produced  tentative  statements  which  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  approximately  correct: 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


357 


Per  Cent 

Institution.  Mental  Defectives. 


N.  Y.  Reformatory  for  Women,  Bedford about  37 

Mass.  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  Lancaster about  50 

Maryland  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  Baltimore about  60 

N.  J.  State  Home  for  Girls,  Trenton about  33 


Miss  Mary  R.  Campbell,  a psychologist,  recently  made  an 
intensive  study  of  the  mental  status  of  144  out  of  235  inmates 
in  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  School  for  Girls  at  Milwaukee, 
and  found  63  per  cent  mentally  deficient.  This  included  the 
borderline  cases,  the  highest  type  of  feeble-minded. 

Dr.  Katherine  Bement  Davis,  Superintendent  of  the  New 
York  Reformatory  for  Women  at  Bedford,  estimates  that  the 
subnormal  women  who  belong  to  the  criminal  classes,  especially 
those  engaged  in  public  prostitution,  number  50  per  cent. 

Dr.  Alberta  Guibord,  of  Boston,  found,  after  three  months 
of  intensive  study  of  100  cases  at  Bedford,  that  twenty-eight 
were  decidedly  feeble-minded,  not  counting  any  of  the  Moron 
class  or  doubtful  cases,  and  that  in  addition  there  were  eight 
Insane,  a total  of  thirty-six  out  of  one  hundred,  not  counting 
the  highest  type  of  the  feeble-minded. 

Miss  Maude  Miner,  an  experienced  probation  officer  of  New 
York,  in  a letter  just  received,  states: 

“It  is  true  that  it  is  the  exceptional  girl  who  is  declared 
normal  and  not  the  exceptional  one  who  is  declared  men- 
tally deficient.  We  are  having  every  girl  who  comes  to  us 
now  mentally  examined  by  a mental  expert.  We  find  that 
the  majority  of  girls  from  sixteen  to  twenty  years  of  age 
have  a mentality  of  not  more  than  nine  or  ten  years,  and 
that  many  of  them  are  not  responsible  for  their  acts. 

“I  believe  that  mental  deficiency  is  more  responsible  for 
bringing  a large  number  of  girls  into  prostitution  than 
any  other  factor.” 

It  has  been  known  that  the  great  army  of  prostitutes  in 
our  large  cities  is  partly  recruited  from  feeble-minded  women, 
but  that  the  percentage  should  be  so  high,  is  startling.  Not 
until  the  Binet-Simon  system  of  psychological  tests  for  intelli- 
gence is  established  in  our  Moral  Courts  in  Chicago  can  we 
there  ascertain  with  scientific  accuracy  what  the  situation 


358 


The  World's  Social  Evil 


really  is.  We  have  enough  evidence  on  the  subject,  however, 
to  point  the  way  to  a new  method  of  combating  the  sociai  evil. 
The  large  group  of  mentally  retarded  persons  who  may  he 
included  in  the  term  ''' subnormal''  number  in  this  country,  ac- 
cording to  the  best  authorities,  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand. The  term  would  include  the  idiot,  who  has  been  defined 
to  be  a person  “so  deeply  defective  in  mind  from  birth  or 
from  an  early  age  that  he  is  unable  to  guard  himself  against 
common  physical  dangers.''  The  imbecile  is  defined  as  one, 
“who  by  reason  of  mental  defects  existing  from  birth  or  from 
an  early  age  is  incapable  of  earning  his  own  living,  hut  is  capa- 
ble of  guarding  himself  against  common  physical  danger.”  The 
highest  type  of  the  subnormal  or  the  so-called  feeble-minded  has 
been  defined  as  the  “moron,  one  who  is  capable  of  earning  his 
living  under  favorable  circumstances,  but  is  incapable  from 
mental  defects  existing  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  (a)  of 
competing  on  equal  terms  with  his  normal  fellows,  or  (b)  of 
managing  himself  and  his  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence.”  The 
lowest  group  is  composed  of  helpless  children,  who  are  no  com- 
fort to  themselves,  their  parents  or  caretakers,  and  are  gener- 
ally found  in  custodial  institutions.  The  next  higher  group 
comprises  those  persons  who  are  usuaily  recognized  as  dis- 
tinctly backward  or  foolish.  They  are,  perhaps,  those  of 
least  danger  to  society.  They  have  not  the  mentality  to  do 
the  damage  or  take  part  in  the  criminal  enterprises  that  those 
have  in  the  highest  group.  The  moron  comprises  those  per- 
sons who,  to  the  superficial  view,  are  often  considered  normal, 
but  merely  somewhat  dull  and  backward.  The  moron  is  unable 
to  compete  on  equal  terms  with  his  fellows  and  he  is  unable 
to  manage  his  own  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence.  In  the 
small  villages  of  the  country  they  frequently  pass  as  normal 
persons,  but  in  the  stress  of  life  in  a great  city  the  fact  of 
their  deficiency  becomes  quickly  apparent.  To  this  class  be- 
long a large  number  of  the  vagrant  tramps;  the  repeaters  in 
the  houses  of  correction,  the  petty  thieves,  the  alcoholics  and 
many  murderers.  Many  of  this  class,  not  being  able  to  com- 
pete with  their  normai  feilows,  become  objects  of  charity,  or 
adopt  criminal  careers.  They  become  beggars  and  paupers. 
They  are  generally  unemployed  because  unemployable.  The 
women  of  this  class  form,  in  my  judgment,  a large  per  cent 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


359 


of  the  women  in  the  slums  of  the  underworld.  It  is  now  gen- 
erally believed  by  competent  investigators  that  fully  twenty- 
five  per  cent  of  the  inmates,  male  and  female,  of  jails  and 
reformatories  and  penitentiaries  belong  to  this  class.  The 
money  society  lays  out  upon  them  at  the  present  time  in  the 
matter  of  police  and  court  expenditures,  their  maintenance  in 
workhouses,  reformatories,  jails  and  penitentiaries,  should  be 
used  before  they  become  inmates,  and  in  a preventive  way. 

Mental  deficiency  as  represented  by  the  three  types  of  the 
subnormal  which  have  been  mentioned  occurs  in  all  classes 
of  society  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  The  defect  may  be 
inborn — germinal — and  therefore  the  hereditary  failure  of 
the  higher  structures  of  the  brain  to  develop,  or  it  may  be 
acquired,  as  for  example,  through  an  accident  or  injury  to 
the  brain  of  the  child  in  early  life.  The  failure  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  brain  may  be  due  to  injury  of  the  child  at 
birth  from  prolonged  and  difficult  labor.  It  may  also  be  due 
to  injuries  indicted  by  the  careless  attending  physician.  In- 
deed, the  general  public  has  little  information  regarding  the 
number  of  such  injuries. 

There  is  still  another  group  which  includes  all  those  cases 
due  to  arrest  of  growth  of  the  brain  from  such  causes  as 
maternal  Injury  or  diseases  affecting  the  developing  embryo. 
These  may  be  said  to  be  congenital,  as  for  example,  that  in- 
fectious disease  syphilis,  known  as  the  black  plague,  which  is 
responsible  for  so  much  physical  and  mental  deficiency.  The 
lower  we  descend  in  the  social  scale  the  more  we  find  the 
effect  of  this  disease  among  females.  Dr.  Mott,  of  London,  has 
said  that  general  paralysis  of  the  insane,  the  essential  cause  of 
which  is  this  disease,  becomes  more  and  more  common  among 
females.  Drink,  tuberculosis  and  lack  of  nutrition  also  con- 
tribute in  causing  mental  deficiency,  by  injuring  the  germ 
plasm  and  poisoning  the  blood,  when  acted  upon  for  long  pe- 
riods of  time. 

An  important  distinction  must  be  made  between  two  groups 
of  the  defective  classes,  those  who  may  and  those  who  should 
not  enjoy  social  privileges  as  members  of  the  community. 
From  a racial  and  eugenic  point  of  view  the  inborn  or  heredi- 
tary defectives  are  by  far  the  most  important  because  the 
defect  is  germinal  and,  therefore,  transmissible  to  the  offspring. 


360 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


This  class  forms  seventy-five  per  cent  or  more  of  the  defective 
classes.  The  other  twenty-five  per  cent  or  less,  those  whose 
defect  is  acquired  due  to  accidents  at  birth,  negligence  of  physi- 
cian, etc.,  are  not  so  dangerous  because  their  defect  is  not 
transmissible.  When  so  many  as  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the 
feeble-minded  are  such  by  reason  of  germinal  or  hereditary 
taint,  and  since  perhaps  fifty  per  cent  of  the  women  of  the 
underworld  are  subnormal,  it  becomes  at  once  apparent  that 
not  only  in  order  to  reduce  the  number  of  women  in  public 
prostitution,  but  also  to  protect  the  race  itself,  we  must  adopt 
other  methods  of  eliminating  vice  than  those  now  employed. 

This  is  the  age  of  preventive  medicine.  Preventive  medicine 
has  shown  itself  capable  of  removing  many  of  the  causes  of 
human  misery  and  sorrow.  The  hereditary  mental  defectives, 
and  indeed  the  whole  subnormal  group,  seldom  develop  intelli- 
gence beyond  that  of  the  normal  child  of  twelve  years.  This 
degree  of  intelligence  is  not  sufficient  for  the  ordinary  affairs 
of  life.  Since  this  age  is  the  determining  one  in  relation  to 
feeble-mindedness,  one  would  expect  that  the  retardation  in- 
cident thereto  would  be  recognized  in  the  public  schools.  Most 
children  attend  school  at  least  until  they  are  twelve  years  of 
age.  Here  then  is  the  crux  of  the  situation.  We  must  look 
to  the  public  schools  for  the  early  identification  of  the  de- 
fectives. The  Juvenile  Court,  of  which  we  have  been  justly 
proud,  begins  its  care  of  the  defective  child  after  he  has  be- 
come delinquent.  The  identification  of  the  subnormal  should 
be  made  before  he  has  reached  the  Juvenile  Court,  where,  as 
the  result  of  some  inevitable  offense  against  society,  he  is  sure 
to  land. 

A recent  investigation  by  a competent  expert  in  a city 
in  the  United  States  of  four  hundred  thousand  population  de- 
veloped the  fact  that  the  total  number  of  permanent  and  tem- 
porarily subnormal  children  is  approximately  two  and  one-half 
per  cent  of  the  total  school  population  in  the  elementary  grades. 
This  does  not  include  pupils  in  classes  for  deaf  and  blind,  but 
does  include  borderline  cases.  A survey  in  the  same  city  of  the 
children  of  the  public  schools  showed  that  the  subnormal  chil- 
dren were  not  found  in  particular  sections  of  the  city,  as  in  the 
case  of  those  suffering  from  tuberculosis,  but  they  were  found 
scattered  all  over  the  city  where  schoolhouses  were  to  be  found. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


361 


The  intelligent  and  progressive  school  board  in  the  City  of 
Milwaukee  caused  this  survey  of  the  elementary  public  schools 
to  be  made  to  ascertain  the  total  number  of  subnormal  chil- 
dren, so  that  they  might  plan  for  their  special  education.  This 
survey  included  the  borderline  cases.  The  mentally  defective 
numbered  about  1,003  in  a school  population  in  the  elementary 
grades  of  40,799  children.  The  charts  showing  these  findings 
are  by  courtesy  loaned  to  me  for  this  occasion.  I use  them 
with  confidence,  for  they  were  made  by  Miss  Mary  R.  Campbell, 
a competent  psychologist,  who  has  had  many  years’  experience 
with  subnormal  children. 

Chart  I,  which  follows,  shows  the  grades  in  which  adolescent 
subnormals  were  distributed.  Children  in  these  grades  are  from 
three  to  six  years  retarded.  The  fourth,  fifth,  sixth  and  sev- 
enth grades  are  the  ones  in  which  the  adolescent  subnormals 
begin  to  fail  in  school  work,  according  to  the  survey  made. 
It  is  at  this  level  that  the  great  majority  of  boys  and  girls 
who  are  not  making  good  leave  school  and  go  to  work.  With 
such  limited  education  the  incapable  child,  of  course,  is  not 
equal  to  the  battle  of  life,  and  the  girls  go  to  recruit  the  under- 
world. 

Chart  II  of  this  survey,  shows  the  number  of  adolescent 
subnormals  according  to  age — the  type  of  incapable  child,  per- 
fectly normal  in  appearance  but  mentally  behind  the  grade  for 
age,  sometimes  three  to  seven  years.  It  is  the  dangerous  age, 
particularly  for  girls,  for  they  do  not  make  good  in  school; 
they  become  discouraged,  leave  school,  go  to  work  as  soon  as 
fourteen  years  of  age,  and  are  equally  incompetent  sometimes 
in  the  business  world,  and  fall  easy  prey  to  unscrupulous  men. 
The  Juvenile  Court  records  in  this  same  city  indicate  that  the 
majority  of  girls  reported  there  have  left  school  while  in  the 
fifth,  sixth  or  seventh  grade,  to  go  to  work.  A year  or  two 
afterwards  comes  their  first  downfall  and  finally  court  prose- 
cution. 

Chart  III  contrasts  the  pedagogical  equivalent  of  ability 
under  the  per  cent  system  of  estimating  a child’s  mental  abil- 
ity by  the  method  employed  in  all  public  schools,  with  ability 
equivalent  in  terms  of  clinical  psychology,  showing  economic 
status  of  child.  Those  included  in  the  danger  zone  and  below. 


362 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


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The  World’s  Social  Evil 


363 


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364 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 

CHART  III 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


365 


while  only  2V2  per  cent  of  the  total  school  population  in  ele- 
mentary grades,  constitute  about  25  per  cent  of  the  inmates  of 
penal  institutions  and  about  50  per  cent  of  those  found  in  the 
slums  of  our  cities. 

The  teaching  of  sex  hygiene  then  in  the  public  schools  be- 
comes secondary  to  the  more  important  and  larger  proposi- 
tion— the  identification  of  the  subnormal  during  school  age. 
The  early  detection  of  the  subnormal  and  their  subsequent 
handling  along  the  lines  of  prevention  is  imperative,  not  only 
for  their  own  benefit  and  happiness,  but  for  the  protection 
of  society.  The  public  schools  should  be  used  as  clearing 
houses.  By  this  means  these  children  may  be  protected  so 
that  they  need  not  recruit  the  underworld  and  later  be  sent 
to  various  state  institutions — jails,  reformatories,  penal  insti- 
tutions, insane  asylums,  almshouses,  yes  and  even  in  extreme 
cases,  so  they  need  not  be  subjected  to  capital  punishment. 

The  school  teacher  frequently  is  able  to  identify  the  sub- 
normal child  because  of  the  fact  that  he  is  from  two  to  four 
years  behind  his  grade.  Generally  although  that  is  not  al- 
ways true,  such  retardation  under  favorable  conditions  means 
that  the  child  is  defective,  because  of  acquired  causes,  econ- 
omic conditions,  or  heredity.  But  the  identification  of  these 
defects,  of  course,  cannot  be  left  to  the  school  teacher.  Psychol- 
ogists and  physicians  must  be  employed  to  report  the  condi- 
tions they  find  in  regard  to  mental  defects  in  every  school  in 
the  land.  Great  care  is  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  physician 
in  judging.  Therefore,  consideration  must  be  given  to  each 
individual  case.  Pupils  who  are  falling  behind  in  the  present 
school  system  might  be  encouraged  to  enter  vocational  schools. 
Those  who  are  pronounced  defective  should  try  this  new  edu- 
cational environment.  Those  who  are  merely  backward  be- 
cause of  bad  eyes,  adenoids,  mouth-breathing,  insufficient  nour- 
ishment or  misdirected  effort,  can  be  brought  to  normality  by 
overcoming  the  conditions  which  have  made  them  backward, 
but  the  other  class,  which  is  distinctly  subnormal,  needs  dif- 
ferent handling.  Once  the  fact  has  been  established  that  a 
child  is  subnormal,  the  parents  or  guardian  should  be  in- 
formed and  a careful  record  should  be  kept.  Special  schools 
should  be  established  for  these  children  during  the  period  of 


366 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


adolescence  in  which  they  may  be  given  special  education  and 
training  in  industrial  work.  It  is  not  generally  believed  but 
unfortunately  when  the  mental  development  is  arrested,  edu- 
cation above  that  level  of  intelligence  is  impossible.  After  these 
children  shall  have  become  adults,  if  the  parents  are  able  to 
guard  them  outside  of  institutions  they  may  be  permitted  to 
do  so,  but  if  the  parents  should  be  unable  to  safeguard  them, 
because  of  poverty  or  for  any  other  reason,  schools  and  homes 
should  be  established  in  detached  colonies  of  small  groups,  such 
as  that  at  Faribault,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  These  special 
schools  should  be  located  near  the  cities  where  the  parents  can 
frequently  visit  them.  When  such  institutions  are  located  at 
long  distances  from  the  parents’  home  the  mother  is  subjected 
to  unnecessary  anguish  because  of  the  long  separation  and 
lack  of  information  as  to  the  child’s  welfare.  Such  schools 
and  homes  should  provide  for  work  in  the  open  air  and  be 
conducted  so  as  to  permit  those  who  reside  in  them  to  lead 
happy,  useful  lives. 

By  bravely  facing  the  facts,  and  by  applying  psychological 
tests  in  the  schools  to  identify  the  subnormal,  and  providing 
for  his  education  and  care  during  the  period  of  adolescence 
in  separate  schools,  and  later,  in  those  cases  where  the  parents 
cannot  guard  them,  in  segregated  colony  homes,  having  ade- 
quate facilities  for  their  welfare  and  happiness,  we  shall  be 
able  to  deflect  from,  the  slums  of  our  great  cities  those  who, 
through  no  blame  of  their  own,  constitute  fifty  per  cent  of  its 
public  prostitution  and  its  crime.  With  this  fundamental  suc- 
cess in  the  elimination  of  the  social  evil  and  of  crimes,  we  will 
find  that  the  removal  of  this  class  from  the  ranks  of  prostitu- 
tion, will  reduce  the  prostitution  among  the  normal  by  ten  per 
cent  merely  by  removing  the  helpless  who  are  easy  prey.  If 
then  by  the  effective  enforcement  of  law  we  can  discourage 
the  respectable  property  owners  from  renting  their  property 
for  immoral  purposes,  and  the  promoters  of  commercialized 
vice  from  plying  their  dastardly  business  under  the  protec- 
tion and  sometimes  with  the  connivance  of  public  oflBcials,  we 
shall  reduce  the  traffic  by  another  ten  per  cent,  and,  again,  if 
by  the  wise  teaching  of  animal  and  plant  husbandry  in  the 
lower  grades,  and  sex  hygiene  in  the  high  schools  and  colleges 
we  can  reduce  it  still  another  ten  per  cent  we  shall  have  a 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


367 


grand  total  of  eighty  per  cent  reduction.  These  are  approxi- 
mate, not  accurate  figures.  They  are  used  to  suggest  relative 
magnitudes.  It  is  believed  that  careful  investigation  will 
substantiate  their  value  in  this  respect.  They  represent  what 
can  he  accomplished  by  boldly  facing  the  facts  and  applying 
the  known  remedies.  You  may  observe  that  there  remains  a 
margin  of  twenty  per  cent,  the  elimination  of  which  even  the 
most  sanguine  of  us  will  have  to  agree  must  be  passed  to  an- 
other or  other  generations. 

The  fact  that  so  large  a per  cent  of  the  women  engaged  in 
public  prostitution  are  mentally  deficient  removes  the  stigma 
of  social  disgrace  from  womanhood,  but  we  must  transfer  this 
stigma  then  to  the  males  of  the  race,  who  commercialize  the 
helplessness  of  these  afflicted  women. 

This  policy  of  prevention  will  safeguard  the  coming  gen- 
eration. It  will  require  a decade  generally  to  establish  and 
finance  this  new  order  of  things.  In  the  meantime,  before  we 
can  get  results  from  such  a policy  of  prevention,  what  shall 
be  done  to  meet  the  awful  situation? 

I.  The  mentally,  morally  and  physically  diseased  prosti- 
tutes, both  male  and  female,  must  be  segregated,  not  for  pur- 
poses of  commercialization,  but  for  purposes  of  sanitation. 
To  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  race,  our  generation  must  at 
once  resort  to  the  most  drastic  measures.  Legislation  should 
provide  for  the  care  and  custody  of  these  human  derelicts. 
They  should  be  Isolated  in  farm  colonies,  the  sexes  in  sep- 
arate institutions.  When  committed  by  the  court  the  sentences 
should  be  indeterminate. 

II.  The  renting  of  property  for  immoral  purposes,  with 
knowledge,  should  be  made  a felony.  Owners  or  agents  who 
thus  use  their  property  are  enemies  of  the  race. 

III.  The  operating  of  such  houses  should  also  be  made  a 
felony.  Individuals  so  engaged  jeopardize  the  future  of  the 
race. 

IV.  The  laws  directed  against  the  social  evil  should  be 
enforced  by  the  public  offlcials  who  have  taken  an  oath  of  office 
to  do  so. 

V.  There  should  be  municipal  control,  with  close  super- 
vision, of  all  places  of  public  amusement,  and  the  number  of 
these  should  be  multiplied. 


368 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


VI.  There  should  be  publicity  of  facts  concerning  the  social 
evil  and  dissemination  of  knowledge  pertaining  to  social  dis- 
eases, sanitation  and  standards  of  living. 

VII.  Courses  of  study  in  biology  should  be  introduced  in 
colleges  and  training  schools  for  teachers.  These  courses  should 
include  methods  of  presenting  to  children  facts  pertaining  to 
the  origin  of  life. 

The  time  has  come  when  society  must  employ  scientific 
means  to  learn  the  causes  behind  the  conditions  it  is  seeking  to 
improve,  and  the  intelligence  of  modern  business  methods  in 
financing  the  remedies  indicated.  This  congress  can  do  much 
to  infiuence  and  guide  public  opinion  throughout  the  country. 

The  coming  of  women  into  a larger  participation  in  public 
life  is  a distinct  aid  in  the  campaign.  They  will  demand  higher 
ideals  of  the  candidates  for  public  office,  higher  standards  of 
conduct  in  ofiice  and  more  efliclent  service. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  nearly  fifty  per  cent  of  the  public 
prostitutes  are  feeble-minded,  and  considering  that  nearly  all 
of  them  spread  infectious  diseases,  the  idea  of  their  being  segre- 
gated and  protected  in  so-called  “Red  Light  Districts”  and  as  a 
part  of  the  settled  policy  of  the  administration  of  any  American 
city,  becomes  unthinkable. 


APPENDIX  II. 


PROSTITUTION  IN  EUROPE. 

A REVIEW. 

The  volume  issued,  as  the  second  of  a series  of  four,  by 
the  Bureau  of  Social  Hygiene,  comes  to  hand  after  the  MS. 
of  the  foregoing  had  been  completed. 

Mr.  Plexner  treats  of  the  facts  of  Prostitution — the  De- 
mand— the  Supply — the  Law — Regulation — Segregation — 
Disease — Abolition. 

Under  these  various  heads  we  are  furnished  with  a new 
witness — one  who  has  made  a first  hand,  present  day.  Inspection 
of  the  field,  charged  with  the  single  mission  of  discovering  the 
facts  as  existing  in  Europe  and  stating  them  to  the  world. 

Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  in  an  introduction  to  the 
book  says  the — 

“Investigation  was  assigned  to  one  who  had,  on  the  one 
hand,  previously  given  it  no  critical  thought  or  attention,  but 
whose  studies  of  education  in  this  country  and  abroad  had  dem- 
onstrated his  competency  to  deal  with  a complicated  topic  of 
this  nature.  Mr.  Flexner  was  absolutely  without  prejudice  or 
preconception,  just  as  he  was  absolutely  unfettered  by  instruc- 
tions. He  had  no  previous  opinion  to  sustain;  he  was  given  no 
thesis  to  prove  or  disprove.  He  was  asked  to  make  a thorough 
and  impartial  examination  of  the  subject  and  to  report  his 
observations  and  conclusions.  He  enjoyed  the  fullest  possible 
facilities  for  his  inquiries  and  to  them  and  the  writing  of  this 
book  devoted  almost  two  years.” 

The  testimony  of  such  a witness  is  of  great  value  now  that 
the  whole  problem  of  the  regulation  of  vice  is  up  to  the  Court 
of  public  opinion. 

Pbostitution.  Mr.  Flexner  quotes  the  French  authority — 
Parent  Duchatelet,  who  officially  defines  prostitution  thus: 
“where  several  mercenary  acts  of  immorality  have  been  legally 


Prostitution  In  Europe.  By  Abraham  Flexner. 
Published  by  The  Century  Co.,  New  York.  $1.30. 


370 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


established,  when  the  woman  is  publicly  notorious,  when  she 
has  been  caught  in  the  act  by  other  witnesses  than  her  accuser 
or  the  police  agent.” 

He  appears,  however,  to  be  dissatisfied  with  this  limited 
definition,  and  applies  the  term  to  “any  person  who  habitually, 
or  intermittently,  has  sexual  relations  more  or  less  promiscu- 
ously, for,  money  or  other,  mercenary  consideration.” 

The  use  of  the  word  “person”  in  the  wider  sense  sug- 
gests that  prostitution  is  not  an  act  of  one  sex  only;  but  in 
the  next  sentence  he  says  “A  woman  may  be  a prostitute,  even 
though  not  notorious,  even  though  never  arrested,  even  though 
simultaneously  otherwise  employed  in  a paid  occupation.”  Is 
not  this  ah  acceptance  of  the  old-time  one-sided  application  of 
the  term  “prostitute?” 

Mr.  Flexner,  however,  is  too  keen  an  observer  to  fail  to 
see,  as  he  himself  puts  it,  in  another  chapter,  that  in  every 
act  of  prostitution  at  least  two  parties,  usually,  but  not  always, 
of  opposite  sex,  are  concerned.”  And  he  is  also  too  candid 
and  too  honest  not  to  recognise  that  “it  is  plainly  absurd  to 
speak  of  prostitution  as  if  it  were  only,  or  even  mainly,  the 
act  of  the  woman;  as  if  women  took  to  prostitution  simply 
because  they  were  marked  out  for  a vicious  life  by  innate  de- 
pravity, or  even  forced  into  it  by  economic  pressure.” 

Demand  and  Supply.  Under  the  head  of  “demand”  Mr. 
Flexner  combats  the  idea  that  it  is  chargeable  against  any  one 
set  of  conditions.  “Demand  and  Supply”  he  claims,  “are  vari- 
able factors.”  He  puts  the  case  in  these  terms:  “If  the  pros- 
titution of  women  had  specific  causes,  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
term  ‘cause’  is  used  in  science,  then,  wherever  such  causes  are 
present,  prostitution  should  result.”  He  declares  that  “the  de- 
mand on  the  part  of  the  continental  male  European  is  prac- 
tically universal;  so  true  is  this,  that  until  quite  recently 
questioned,  it  has  been  taken  to  be  an  ultimate  and  inevitable 
physiological  fact.” 

But  notwithstanding  this  statement  of  an  almost  universal 
male  depravity  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  Mr.  Flexner  re- 
gards supply  as  a stimulant  to  demand.  “Supply”  he  says, 
“everywhere  greater  than  spontaneous  demand,  is  utilized  to 
create  a secondary  demand.” 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


371 


If  this  means  anything — instructive  or  definite — it  means 
that  the  exploitation  of  women  and  girls  for  the  market  of  lust 
is  a chief  contributor  to,  and  a principal  source  of  the  popular 
and  almost  universal  belief  in  “necessity”  and  therefore  of  the 
practice  of  vice  on  the  part  of  the  men. 

As  Havelock  Ellis  has  recently  pointed  out  “the  white  slave 
trafiic  is  not  prostitution;  it  is  the  commercialized  exploita- 
tion of  prostitutes.”  “The  proprietors  of  the  houses,”  as  Ellis 
says,  “give  orders  for  the  ‘goods’  they  desire,  and  it  is  the 
business  of  the  procurers  by  persuasion,  misrepresentation,  de- 
ceit, intoxication,  to  supply  them.” 

One  has  only  to  reflect  on  such  a business,  having  vast 
agencies  and  interchanging  commerce,  to  perceive  that  it  must 
be  an  enormous  stimulant,  not  only  of  the  supply,  hut — through 
the  supply — of  the  demand. 

“There  is  no  more  efficient  way,”  says  Mr.  Flexner,  “to 
manufacture  and  to  develop  demand  than  to  crowd  supply  in  an 
attractive  form  upon  the  possible  buyer’s  attention,  when  he 
is  most  amenable  to  suggestion  of  the  requisite  kind.  True 
of  every  article  of  commerce,  be  the  need  for  it  native  or  ac- 
quired, this  principle  is  nowhere  more  valid  than  in  respect 
of  a vice  that  starts  with  a tremendously  powerful  momentum, 
and  is  easily  susceptible  of  still  further  stimulation.” 

An  Old  Theory  Challenged.  In  the  first  chapter  of  the 
book  the  author  refutes  the  current  idea  that  the  life  of  the 
women  of  the  underworld  is  so  brief  that  the  average  is  only 
five  or  six  years.  Referring  to  this  he  says  “there  is  no  basis 
in  fact  whatsoever.” 

He  seems  to  regard  this  as  an  important  discovery.  And 
it  must  be  admitted  that  if  it  is  found  that  this  notion  rests 
upon  a popular  error  there  must  be  a change  of  statement  in 
regard  to  it. 

He  quotes  the  authority  of  Parent  Duchatelet  that  of  3517 
women  inscribed  in  Paris,  980,  or  about  28  percent,  have  been 
on  the  Paris  list  longer  than  seven  years,  but  he  does  not  tell 
us  what  were  the  average  years  of  life  of  the  other  2f37  or  72 
percent  of  them. 

He  gives  also  a table  of  statistics  showing  that,  in  Stock- 
holm “the  inscribed  women,  while  indicating  a higher  death 
rate  than  other  groups  of  women,  does  not  show  anything  like 


372 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  high  rate  generally  named.  In  the  seven  years,  given  In  the 
table,  the  death  rate  of  other  groups  of  women  averages  7.02 
and  of  inscribed  prostitutes,  11.6. 

Here  again,  however,  there  is  no  allowance  made  for  the 
women  who  drop  out  of  the  inscribed  list  and  are  lost  to 
police  inspection.  In  another  chapter  of  the  book  we  find  a 
table  showing  that  “of  2442  women  in  Stockholm  between  1869 
and  1884  23  percent  leave  in  the  first  year  after  inscription. 
With  a total  enrolment  of  3582  at  Paris  in  1880,  1757  women 
disappeared — 46  by  death,  one  by  marriage,  six  to  return  to  a 
decent  life,  the  rest  simply  dropped  out,  eluding  police  control 
in  one  way  or  another." 

What  becomes  of  the  1757  who  escape  the  vigilance  even 
of  the  expert  Paris  police?  Rescue  workers  and  others  tell  of 
many  Instances  of  poor  wrecks  of  the  Inscribed  classes  who 
die,  in  cellars  and  garrets,  in  destitution  and  obscurity.  Sup- 
pose that  30  percent  of  these  missing  ones  die  in  the  course 
of  the  year,  that  would  add  527  to  the  46  reported  dead,  making 
a total  of  571  out  of  3682  in  a single  year. 

Mr.  Flexner  makes  his  strongest  point  in  favor  of  this 
theory  of  longer  life  expectation  among  fallen  women  in  quot- 
ing from  Maurice  Gregory’s  book  on  “The  European  Movement 
for  Abolition”  that  “of  11,823  women  committed  to  Holloway 
Jail  (London)  in  1908,  many  of  them  prostitutes  of  over  five 
years’  standing,  only  six  died  in  the  course  of  the  year." 

Referring  to  these  statistics  however  he  thinks  “the  explan- 
ation is  to  be  sought  in  the  constitution  of  the  prostitute  army." 
May  it  not  also  be  sought  in  the  withdrawal  of  these  women, 
while  in  jail,  from  the  effects  of  their  degrading  and  deadly 
business?  Further,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  the  regis- 
tration system  greatly  increases  the  death  rate  among  such 
women  and  these  women,  in  the  Holloway  Jail,  had  not  been 
subject  to  inscription  with  its  accompanying  compulsory  ex- 
amination. 

Regulation  Kills  Women.  We  have  had  Important  testi- 
mony on  this  subject  showing  that  the  average  life  of  the  or- 
dinary woman  prostitute  is  high,  but  that  the  death  rate  of  the 
inscribed  or  registered  women  is  more  than  double  that  of  the 
free  women. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


373 


A table  In  Chapter  4 of  this  volume  shows  the  enormous 
increase  in  the  death  rate  of  registered  women. 

SouBCES  OF  Supply.  In  regard  to  the  “Sources  of  Supply" 
Mr.  Flexner  found  that  “the  mentally  defective  are  naturally 
easy  prey,”  thus  bearing  unconscious  testimony  to  the  premises 
of  Judge  Olson’s  valuable  address  published  herein. 

That  girls  seek  the  life,  in  any  considerable  proportion,  does 
not  appear  to  Flexner.  “There  is  no  reason,’’  he  says,  “to  be- 
lieve that,  as  a rule,  promiscuity  is  congenial  to  the  woman 
from  the  start;  it  is  sometimes  increasingly  odious.  Low  as  the 
barrier  may  be,  the  prbstitute  has  rarely  once  and  for  all  de- 
liberately stepped  across  it.  Her  demoralization  is  a progres- 
sive, not  a summary,  process.  With  her,  the  sex  instinct  is 
less  apt  to  be  valued  at  its  real  worth,  or  to  be  properly  safe- 
guarded by  deference  to  exacting  opinion;  less  apt,  too,  to  bfe 
reduced  in  comparative  urgency  by  the  volume  and  abundance 
of  other  satisfactions.  The  girl  has,  however,  no  notion  in 
the  first  place  of  becoming  a prostitute.  She  begins  by  giving 
away  what  ultimately  she  learns  to  sell.’’ 

“Sometimes  demoralization  has  set  in  so  early,  or  there  has 
been  so  little  development  of  intelligence  or  character,  that  the 
girl  Is  herself  from  the  start  not  only  willing,  but  the  main  in- 
stigator; in  other  cases,  with  intelligence  too  undeveloped  and 
character  too  unformed  to  urge  her  away  from  temptation,  a 
vague  but  profound  instinct  holds  her  back  until  her  dumb  re- 
sistance has  been  overcome  by  other  inducements  or  weakened 
by  alcohol,  pretended  affection  or  interest.  Despite  this  dark 
picture,  however,  most  girls  in  the  various  stations  described 
do  resist  like  a stone  wall.’’ 

In  his  study  of  this  phase  of  the  subject,  Mr.  Flexner  finds 
that  the  source  of  supply  in  Europe  is  chiefly  from  the  lower 
working  classes  and  mainly  the  unmarried  women  of  these 
classes.  “They  are,’’  he  says,  “the  unskilled  daughters  of  the 
unskilled  classes.  Out  of  1,327  street-women  of  Geneva  ex- 
amined between  1907  and  1911,  503  had  been  servants;  236  tail- 
oresses  and  laundresses;  120  factory  workers.  Of  173  registered 
Munich  prostitutes  (1911),  52  had  been  barmaids;  29  domestic 
servants;  29  factory  employment.  Of  2,574  clandestines  in  the 
same  city,  721  had  been  servants;  608  barmaids;  255  factory 
hands;  60  stage-dancers  or  singers;  170  without  definite  call- 


374  The  World’s  Social  Evil 

ing.  Of  1,200  women  enrolled  in  Berlin  1909-10,  431  had  been 
servants;  445  factory  operatives;  479  seamstresses  and  laund- 
resses; 145  were  without  vocation.” 

Education.  As  to  the  educational  standing  of  these  women 
he  quotes  German  authorities  to  show  that  less  than  one  tenth 
had  anything  beyond  the  most  rudimentary  training.  Of  the 
minors  apprehended  in  1901,  only  36  percent  of  these  over  12 
years  had  completed  the  popular  elementary  schools:  only  one- 
fifth  of  one  percent  had  advanced  further. 

“One  finds  here  and  there,”  he  says,  “a  stenographer,  an 
elementary  teacher,  a former  actress;  but  in  most  of  these  cases, 
the  woman  is,  socially  speaking,  of  inferior  origin  and  intellect- 
ually not  more  prepossessing  than  others  of  her  type.  Very 
rarely  indeed  a person  of  some  education,  social  standing,  and 
personal  charm  is  met  with.  A Parisian  woman  to  whom  this 
description  is  fairly  applicable  was  asked  as  to  the  possibility 
of  finding  others  like  herself.  “I  am  one  in  a million,”  she 
proudly  and  truthfully  answered.” 

Home  Conditions.  The  absence  of  refinement  and  moral 
tone  in  the  homes  of  many  is  shown  to  have  a close  relation 
to  the  supply.  “Living  conditions  are  responsible  for  the  fact 
that  children  learn  all  forms  of  evil  prematurely  and  forego 
all  natural  enjoyments.  Of  the  inhabitants  in  Berlin  in  1900, 
73.7  percent  lived  in  dwellings  of  two  rooms  or  less;  785,000 
lived  in  single  rooms;  561,000  in  two  rooms;  5,450  in  one  un- 
heated room;  7,759  in  a kitchen.  Too  frequently,  the  home, 
such  as  it  is,  is  broken  besides.” 

The  absence  of  home  relationships  also  is  given  as  a cause 
of  the  fall  into  the  ranks  of  prostitution,  of  domestic  servants. 
He  points  out  that  servants  “who  fall  into  the  ranks  of  prosti- 
tution show  that  economic  pressure  is  not  in  itself  a main 
cause”  for  the  servant  does  not  lack  food  or  shelter  and  her 
services  are  everywhere  in  demand. 

“Mrs.  Bramwell  Booth,  than  whom  there  is  no  more  com- 
petent or  sympathetic  authority,  found  among  150  successive 
and  unusually  varied  cases  only  2 percent  who  explained  their 
prostitution  by  inability  to  earn  a livelihood;  Strohmberg  dis- 
covered among  462  enrolled  women  at  Dorpat  only  one  who 
protested  poverty  as  her  justification;  Pinkus,  studying  the 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


375 


incomes  of  1,'550  Berlin  women  before  embarking  on  the  life, 
decides  that  1,389  had  earned  enough  for  self  support.  But  it 
would  be  obviously  unfair  to  say  of  these  1,389  women  capable 
of  earning  a living  that  social  economic  conditions  had  nothing 
to  do  with  their  fall;  for  precisely  these  conditions  create  a situ- 
ation capable  of  being  exploited.” 

The  Cost.  “The  cost  of  prostitution,  near  and  remote,  di- 
rect and  indirect,  outruns  any  calculation  that  one  would  dare 
to  formulate.” 

After  speaking  of  “the  money  immediately  involved — the 
sums  paid  to  the  prostitute,”  etc.,  Mr.  Flexner  says,  “We  may 
not  overlook  the  loss  involved  in  the  unproductiveness  of  this 
army  of  women;  expenditure  on  alcohol,  gifts  and  demoralizing 
amusements;  the  long  score  chargeable  to  venereal  disease,  in- 
cluding the  loss  in  earnings,  the  outlay  for  treatment,  both  of 
the  immediate  victims  and  those  still  more  unfortunate  on 
whom,  though  innocent,  some  part  of  the  curse  and  its  cost  not 
infrequently  devolves.  Upwards  of  10,000  individuals  are  now 
annually  treated  for  venereal  complaints  in  the  public  hospi- 
tals of  Berlin  alone.  These  are  essential  items  in  the  cost  of 
prostitution.  Of  the  total  loss  only  the  roughest  guesses  can 
he  made;  but  it  is  worth  noting  that  any  estimate  that  en- 
deavors to  include  all  the  factors,  direct  and  indirect,  soon 
reaches  into  the  millions.  Losch,  for  example,  has  reckoned  the 
annual  cost  of  prostitution  to  the  German  Empire  at  something 
between  300  and  500  million  marks.  This  outlay  may  be  con- 
trasted with  that  spent  by  the  Prussian  Government  on  its  en- 
tire educational  system:  its  universities,  secondary  schools,  ele- 
mentary school  system,  technical  and  professional  institutions 
of  all  kinds  involving  a budget  in  1909  of  a little  less  than  200,- 
000,000  marks.  Assuredly  the  economic  burden  imposed  on  so- 
ciety by  prostitution  is  comparable  with  that  due  to  standing 
armies,  war,  or  pestilence.” 

The  Law.  In  Chapter  4 Mr.  Flexner  treats  of  “Prostitution 
and  the  Law.”  He  lays  down  the  premise  that  “No  one  hopes 
successfully  to  interfere  by  means  of  penal  legislation  with  the 
occasional  immorality  of  two  individuals.”  He  quotes  author- 
ities who  claim  that  the  dictum  that  “these  are  vices,  not 
crimes”  applies  only  to  prostitution,  in  so  far  as  it  Involves 


376 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


only  two  adults  “without  annoyance  or  profit  ttr  others.’’  “In 
England,  Italy,  Norway,  Holland  and  Switzerland  there  is  no 
penal  enactment  against  prostitution  as  such.’’ 

And  he  adds:  “The  change  of  opinion  from  the  crime  concept 
to  the  vice  concept  of  prostitution  accompanies  and  denotes  not 
less,  but  greater,  public  concern  on  the  subject.  For  it  betok- 
ens a critical  and  discriminating  study  of  the  problem — a reduc- 
tion of  its  vast  total  into  constituent  elements,  each  to  be  met 
by  its  own  appropriate  procedure.  The  societies  whose  laws 
indiscriminately  denounced  all  immorality  as  crime  are  con- 
spicuous for  the  futility  of  most  of  the  steps  which  they  took 
in  dealing  with  it.  A highly  learned  German  authority  is  quoted 
as  saying:  “What  is  evil  in  prostitution  is  not  necessary  and 
what  is  necessary  is  not  evil.” 

Regulation.  Coming  to  the  subject  of  Regulation  in  Europe 
Mr.  Flexner  speaks  of  two  opposite  policies,  “regulation  and  abo- 
lition.’’ For  purposes  of  regulation  he  shows  that  the  Conti- 
nental European  police  power  is  practically  absolute  and  irre- 
sponsible. At  Paris,  he  says,  “Administrative  punishment  is  re- 
garded as  the  very  core  of  regulation.  A registered  woman  has 
no  legal  rights.  She  is  absolutely  in  the  hands  of  the  police 
inspector,  who,  on  hearing  the  morals  patrolman’s  complaint 
against  her,  pronounces  sentence  ppon  her.  She  may,  of  course, 
protest  her  innocence,  but  she  is  allowed  neither  attorney  to 
represent,  nor  witnesses  to  support  her.  Nor  can  the  action 
of  the  police  be  reviewed  by  any  regularly  constituted  court 
of  justice.” 

This  police  power  has  been  conceded  without  the  deliberate 
and  express  sanction  of  a competent  legislative  authority.  That 
is  to  say,  no  nation  has  legalized  the  system,  by  any  definite 
act  or  law,  except  England,  in  passing  the  Contagious  Diseases 
Acts  and  that  country  found  it  necessary  to  repeal  the  acts  in 
obedience  to  popular  demand. 

The  reasons,  or  excuses,  given  for  regulation  are  “that  it 
is  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  order”  and  “that  it  promotes 
the  public  health.” 

Segregation:  Both  these  reasons  are  exploded.  The  segre- 
gation of  prostitution  is  proven  to  be  an  inherent  failure.  Mr. 
Flexner  quotes  statistics  which  he  says  “disposes  once  and  for 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


377 


all  of  segregation.  Segregation  in  the  sense  of  an  attempt  to 
confine  the  prostitutes  of  a city,  or  even  the  majority  of  them 
to  a single  locality,  or  even  to  a few  definite  localities,  is  not 
undertaken  in  any  European  city  from  Budapest  to  Glasgow.” 

Again  he  says:  “Segregation  is  impracticable;  more  than 
this,  any  attempt  to  bring  it  about  is  also  recognized  to  be  in- 
advisable. In  the  first  place,  the  impossibility  of  thoroughness 
creates  an  obvious  opportunity  for  police  corruption;  a woman 
who  objects  to  being  segregated  may  for  an  adequate  considera- 
tion induce  the  police  to  overlook  her;  and  as  hundreds  are 
bound  to  be  overlooked  anyway,  the  chances  of  detecting  fraud 
are  slender.  Again,  a segregated  quarter  would  give  to  vice  the 
greatest  possible  prominence.  Finally,  it  would  expose  to  moral 
contagion  those  who  are  already  most  imperilled  and  whom 
every  consideration  of  interest  and  decency  should  impel  society 
to  protect — the  children  of  the  poor.  For  the  segregated  quar- 
ter will  Inevitably  be  located  where  rents  are  low  and  where  the 
neighbors  have  least  infiuence.” 

Abolition.  London’s  policy  for  abolition,  which  has  been 
in  operation  for  a few  years,  is  working  out  the  good  claimed 
for  it.  “Besides  the  transformation  wrought  in  particular  spots, 
an  unmistakable  general  improvement  is  noticeable  throughout 
London.  This  is  a fact  familiar  to  travelers  returning  to  London 
after  an  interval  of  a few  years;  it  was  practically  the  unani- 
mous testimony  before  the  Royal  Commission.  On  this  point  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than  to  quote  the  words  of  Mr. 
W.  A.  Coote:  T have  known  London  for  the  past  forty  years, 
and  my  memory  goes  back  to  quite  forty-seven  years.  I knew 
the  Haymarket  and  Piccadilly  very  well  forty-seven  years  ago, 
and  I say  that  London  today,  compared  with  what  it  was  forty 
years  ago,  is  an  open-air  cathedral.  Everything  has  gone  for 
the  better.’  The  Laws  remain  the  same,  but  popular  demand 
has  caused,  or  enabled,  police  and  courts  gradually  to  make 
more  of  them.”  * * ♦ • 

After  an  absence  from  London  of  more  than  thirty-five 
years,  save  for  a brief  visit  eighteen  years  ago,  the  author  of 
this  book  witnessed  the  marvelous  changes  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Coote,  and  observed  that  similar  progress  has  been  made  in 
Liverpool  and  other  English  cities. — Ed. 


378 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


“London  has  lost  nothing  and  actually  gained  something 
through  its  abolition  policy.  No  community  has  as  yet  envisaged 
and  attacked  the  entire  problem  involved  in  commercialized 
prostitution, — no  community,  I say,  whether  regulationist  or  abo- 
litionist.” * * * * “Ag  to  the  two  matters  now  concerning 

us — order  in  the  streets  and  brothels — the  lowest  level  reached 
in  London  nowhere  falls  as  low  as  in  the  continental  capitals 
where  regulation  is  in  vogue.” 

“As  far  as  order  goes,  therefore,  it  is  impossible  to  make 
out  a case  favorable  to  regulation.” 

Sanitary  Effects.  In  treating  of  the  sanitary  failure  of  the 
system,  Mr.  Flexner  could  do  no  more  than  add  testimony  to 
the  facts  already  established,  viz.,  what  he  calls  the  “absurdity 
of  supposing  that  regulation  means  that  the  authorities  are 
alive  to  the  problem  of  venereal  disease  and  that  abolition 
means  that  they  close  their  eyes  to  it.  Regulation  means  simply 
that  the  police  deal  with  a very  small  portion  of  venereal  dis- 
ease; on  the  Continent,  at  least,  abolition  means  that  the  health 
authorities  are  energetically  attempting  to  reach  more  and  more 
of  it.” 

“Venereal  disease  is  an  evil  in  itself,  and  deserves  to  be 
combated  with  all  the  resources  and  facilities  known  to  science 
and  sanitation;  but  so  long  as  prostitution  exists,  venereal  dis- 
ease will  remain  serious  and  widespread;  we  have  discovered 
absolutely  no  reason — statistical  or  other — to  believe  that  regu- 
lation at  all  reduces  its  ravages;  there  is,  however,  good  reason 
to  believe  that  the  bordell  and  the  medical  examination  con- 
tribute to  its  aggravation  by  increasing  miscellaneous  commerce 
and  by  decreasing  resistance.” 

Regulation.  What,  then,  of  its  sanitary  value?  For  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  disease,  regulation  invested  the  European  po- 
lice with  absolute  and  irresponsible  power  to  compel  regular  med- 
ical inspection.  This  inspection  is  described  by  Mr.  Flexner,  in  its 
offensive  and  corrupting  details — its  horrible  instrumental  force 
— its  disgusting  haste,  “three  minutes  being  estimated  as  the 
time  available,  while  the  actual  operation  is  much  less" — the  in- 
evitable false  security  that  is  thus  assumed  by  men — the  cer- 
tainty of  increasing  immorality  through  this  assumed  security, 
and  the  consequent  increase  rather  than  decrease  of  venereal 


The  World’s  Social  Evil  379 

diseases  are  all  viewed  in  panorama  in  this  very  comprehensive 
book. 

This  leads  us  to  remark  on  one  of  the  aspects  of  the  Euro- 
pean history  of  the  subject  that  Mr.  Flexner  seems  to  have 
entirely  overlooked. 

Mr.  Flexner  closes  his  book  with  this: 

“Civilization  has  stripped  for  a life-and-death  wrestle  with 
tuberculosis,  alcohol  and  other  plagues.  It  is  on  the  verge  of  a 
similiar  struggle  with  the  crasser  forms  of  commercialized  vice. 
Sooner  or  later  it  must  fling  down  the  gauntlet  to  the  whole 
horrible  thing.  This  will  be  the  real  contest — a contest  that  will 
tax  the  courage,  the  self-denial,  the  faith,  the  resources  of  human- 
ity to  their  uttermost.’’ 

The  methods  and  machinery  of  the  old  European  Systems  of 
regulation  of  prostitution  were  believed  to  be  perfected  in  the 
English  Acts  of  1866-9,  called  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts — a 
name  given  to  blind  public  observation  and  mislead  inquirers. 

A letter  appeared  in  the  London  Daily  News  in  1869  signed 
by  four  distinguished  Englishwomen,  Harriet  Martineau,  Flor- 
ence Nightingale,  Mary  Carpenter  and  Josephine  E.  Butler.  That 
letter  was  afterwards  signed  by  thousands  of  women,  and  it 
contained  “a  solemn  protest,’’  which  nobly  expresses  every  prin- 
ciple involved  in  the  present  day  stand  taken  against  regulation. 
A copy  of  that  protest  is  given  in  Chapter  3 of  this  volume. 

From  the  day  that  those  four  women  published  their  chal- 
lenge in  the  London  paper  “the  gauntlet"  has  been  flung  down 
and  never  for  one  single  day  has  the  contest  against  the  unequal, 
immoral  and  slavish  system  ceased.  Already  this  war  has  taxed 
the  courage,  the  self-denial,  the  faith,  the  resources  of  a noble 
army  of  women  and  men,  who  for  forty-five  years  have  fought 
against  principalities  and  powers  and  against  the  powers  of 
darkness. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  Mr.  Flexner’s  important  study 
of  present  day  conditions  in  Europe,  he  should  have  missed  the 
one  great  educational  movement  which  explains  the  change  of 
sentiment  and  official  action  which  he  found  to  have  taken  place. 

In  Chapter  four  he  says:  “An  era  of  scientific  study  may 
be  fairly  said  to  have  set  in.  Wholesale  and  traditional  methods 


380 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


of  attack  have  been  discredited  and  are  being  discarded.  Frank 
dlBcussion  of  the  subject,  as  a social  problem,  is  common  on  the 
Continent,  and  is  beginning  to  take  place  in  Great  Britain, 
where  It  was  long  tabooed.” 

But  this  ‘‘frank  discussion”  began,  as  shown  above,  in  1869. 
The  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  were  passed  and  sustained  on 
medical  grounds,  and  the  challenge  on  those  grounds  was 
promptly  taken  up  by  the  opponents  of  the  Acts.  The  medical 
supporters  of  the  Acts  immediately  affected  an  air  of  puritanism, 
claiming  that  the  subject  was  unfit  for  public  discussion,  and 
even  the  medical  press  was  closed  against  it.  But  this  did 
not  stop  the  aggressive  movement.  Untold  numbers  of  able 
treatises  appeared,  discussing  the  hygienic — as  well  as  the  moral 
and  legal — features  of  the  subject,  and  in  1875  the  ‘‘Medical 
Enquirer”  was  started,  and  was  maintained  for  three  years,  until 
the  ‘‘conspiracy  of  silence”  on  the  part  of  the  press  was  broken. 

During  that  three  years  scores  of  the 'most  eminent  medical 
men  of  Great  Britain  entered  the  charge  against  the  indifference 
on  the  subject,  and  able  articles  were  published  from  the  pens  of 
such  men  as  Drs.  Chapman,  Editor  of  the  Westminster  Review; 
Drysdale,  Taylor,  Nevins,  Worth,  Carter,  Hutchinson,  Routh,  etc. 

This  scientific  movement  thus  begun  in  England,  spread  to 
the  Continent,  and  was  the  real  promoter  of  the  Congress  at 
Geneva  in  1877,  and  the  later  conferences  at  Brussels  in  1899  and 
1905,  where  the  system  was  declared  ‘‘a  failure”  from  a sanitary, 
as  well  as  a moral,  point  of  view. 

In  order  to  call  the  attention  of  the  American  people  to 
this  aspect  of  the  subject,  ‘‘The  Medical  Association  for  Repeal 
of  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts”  addressed  a 98  page  pamphlet 
to  the  Members  of  the  American  Legislature  and  the  Medical 
Profession  of  America,  and  500  copies  of  that  pamphlet  were 
sent  to  New  York  for  distribution. 

It  happens  that  we  have  a copy  of  the  letter  addressed  to 
Mr.  Aaron  M.  Powell,  New  York,  which  is  of  interest  as  showing 
that  the  social  problem  was  being  very  vigorously  discussed 
and  that,  so  far  from  lagging  behind  in  the  conflict,  Great  Brit- 
ain led  in  it. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


381 


NATIONAL  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION  FOB 
REPEAL  OP  THE  C.  D.  ACTS. 

Liverpool,  Aug.  2,  1877. 

To  Aaron  Powell,  Esq., 

58  Reade  Street,  New  York  City. 

Dear  Sir:  — 

Acting  upon  advice  I have  this  day  dispatched  to  your 
address  a case  containing  500  copies  of  “An  Address  to  Members 
of  the  American  Legislature  and  of  the  Medical  Profession”  from 
the  British-Continental  & General  Federation  for  the  Abolition 
of  State  Regulation  of  Prostitution  and  the  above  Association. 

This  “Address”  has  been  carefully  prepared  under  the  able 
editorship  of  Dr.  J.  Birkbeck  Nevins,  and  has  been  printed  and 
published  in  a form  which  we  hope  will  be  acceptable  to  our 
friends  in  America. 

I have  taken  the  opportunity  to  enclose  in  the  case  a few 
of  our  other  publications,  some  of  which  you  may  not  have 
seen,. and  which  will  throw  some  light  upon  the  various  phases 
of  our  movement.  These  publications  include 

20  copies  of  a recent  address  to  medical  men  by  Dr.  Routh 
(an  eminent  medical  man  of  London), 

10  copies  each  of  Chapters  I,  II  and  III  of  “Observations  by 
a Physician”, 

25  copies  each  of  the  “Medical  Enquirer”  for  May,  June  and 
July, 

Sundry  other  pamphlets  and  copies  of  “The  Shield”  and 
"The  National  League  Journal”, 

And  a complimentary  copy  of  each  Volume  of  the  Medical 
Enquirer  for  1875  and  1876. 

I shall  feel  obliged  if  you  will  kindly  acknowledge  receipt 
of  this  letter  and  the  goods  when  delivered. 

I am,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

Wm.  Burgess,  Secretary. 

We  are  all  witnesses  that  the  remarkable  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  public,  observed  by  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  in  his 
address  at  Buffalo,  August  27,  1913,  applies  to  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  social  morals,  and  we  hail  the  change  as  the  hopeful 
sign  of  a new  advent,  with  far  reaching  possibilities  beyond 


382 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  dreams  of  men  and  women  a decade  ago.  Ere  long  the 
doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  vice  and  the  consequent  necessary 
commerce  in  womanhood  will  be  universally  exploded.  The  next 
generation  v/ill  no  more  make  legal  “provision  for  the  flesh  to 
fulfil  the  lusts  thereof”  than  we  would  now  license  “firebugs” 
or  regulate  the  sale  of  tuberculosis  and  smallpox  germs  for 
revenue. 

Mr.  Flexner’s  hook  as  a whole  is  a great  contribution  to  this 
absorbing  all-world  subject.  In  more  than  450  pages  he  packs  in 
a vast  variety  of  facts  and  proofs  of  the  terrible  realness  of  the 
problems  involved — he  fortifies  the  position,  long  since  taken 
by  advanced  students  and  workers — that  what  is  morally  wrong 
cannot  be  legally  right — that,  while  the  police  of  Europe  have 
developed  a marvellous  executive  skill,  and  have  tried  every 
method  that  their  ingenuity  can  devise,  license  and  segregation 
have  totally  failed  to  regulate;  that  under  the  varied  systems 
venereal  diseases  were  an  increasing  menace  to  civilization, 
and  that  the  commercialization  of  vice  developed  into  a gigantic 
system  of  vice  slavery  which  spread  over  into  every  civilized 
land. 

As  a testimony  against  legalization  or  regulation  of  prosti- 
tution in  any  form  it  is  not  merely  that  of  an  expert  student — 
but  it  is  a composite  witness.  Here  are  the  facts  gathered  from 
many  countries  under  numerous  methods  of  applying  the  regu- 
lation system,  and  all  agree  that  it  is  as  impossible  to  make 
vice  decent  or  physically  safe  as  it  is  to  “gather  grapes  of  thorns 
or  figs  of  thistles.” 


APPENDIX  III. 


THE  APPENDIX  TO  DR.  SANGER’S  WORK. 

A Criticism. 

Certain  statements  and  arguments  have  been  made  on  vari- 
ous occasions  based  upon  the  supposed  authority  of  Dr.  W.  W. 
Sanger’s  History  of  Prostitution  which  have  not  been  warranted 
by  the  author’s  words. 

An  edition  of  that  work  published  in  1910  contains  an 
article  of  twenty-two  pages  which  appears  as  “an  appendix’’  to 
the  volume.  This  “appendix”  follows  immediately  the  last  chap- 
ter, without  any  indication  that  it  is  written  by  another  hand. 
The  “appendix”  is  anonymous  and  bears  no  name  of  authorship. 

Unless,  therefore,  the  reader  takes  the  care  to  determine  it 
carefully  he  is  easily  led  to  the  error  that  the  “appendix”  is  also 
a work  of  Dr.  Sanger,  and  it  has  been  so  quoted  on  occasions  of 
important  public  inquiry. 

Dr.  Sanger  published  his  study  of  this  subject  more  than  a 
half  century  ago,  when  European  experiments  of  regulation 
were  supported  by  the  chief  medical  and  military  authorities, 
and  were  operated  by  the  most  accomplished  and  absolute  police 
forces  of  the  world. 

Had  Dr.  Sanger  lived,  himself  to  write  a twentieth  century 
“appendix”  to  his  work  he  would  not  have  ignored  the  great 
changes  which  the  experience  and  study  of  the  last  thirty  years 
have  brought  to  the  subject.  He  would  have  known  that  the 
English  Contagious  Diseases  Acts  had  been  passed  into  law  and, 
after  operating  for  twenty  years — 1866-1886 — were  acknowledged 
failures,  not  only  as  tending  to  inerease  immorality,  but  also 
as  hygienic  measures,  and  that,  following  the  great  uprising 
of  public  agitation,  they  were  repealed  by  vote  of  the  British 
Parliament. 

Dr.  Sanger  also  would  certainly  have  taken  notice  of  the 
attitude  of  the  leading  medical  authorities  of  all  the  countries 
in  Europe,  as  represented  at  the  Brussels  Conferences  of  1899 
and  1905,  and  of  the  great  changes  of  policy  in  dealing  with 
the  subject  in  European  cities.  He  would  have  learned  also  of 


384 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  state  of  the  question  In  the  light  of  the  most  careful  and 
thorough  investigations  made  in  our  day  and  country. 

Conservative  men  who  were  appointed  as  members  of  such 
bodies  as  the  Grand  Jury  of  New  York,  the  Chicago  Vice  Com- 
mission, the  Minneapolis  Vice  Commission,  and  numerous  others, 
have  been  invariably  led  to  see  that  “regulation”  is  a failure 
and  that  the  only  remedy,  in  the  language  of  the  Chicago  Com- 
mission, is  "constant  and  persistent  repression  o/  prostitution, 
the  immediate  method;  absolute  annihilation,  the  ultimate 
ideal.” 

Dr.  W.  H.  Evans,  former  health  commissioner  of  Chicago, 
and  later  known  as  authority  on  sanitation  and  hygiene,  through 
the  columns  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  spoke  the  expression  of 
many  of  these  investigators  when  he  said: 

"I  frankly  confess  that  when  I became  a member  of  the  Vice 
Commission  I shared  the  rather  loose  view  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, that  to  segregate  vice  would  be  a measure  looking  toward 
a control  of  the  problem  of  venereal  disease.  I had  absorbed 
this  point  of  view  without  any  particular  study,  and  it  did  not 
represent  the  accurate  opinions  or  the  close  investigations  of 
myself  or  anybody  else. 

“It  was  with  this  point  of  view  that  I became  a member  of 
the  Vice  Commission.  What  I observed  as  a member  of  the 
Vice  Commission  sent  me  to  the  conclusion  that  segregation  was 
not  a remedy  looking  toward  the  ultimate  cure  of  the  vice  evil 
from  any  standpoint.  I assume  we  are  all  of  the  opinion  that 
an  end  of  sexual  immorality  is  not  going  to  be  brought  about 
quickly  or  as  a result  of  the  immediate  operation  of  any  of  the 
measures  that  are  proposed.  The  only  question  is  as  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  one  method  over  the  other,  looking  toward  a cure 
of  the  situation  as  rapidly  as  is  possible. 

"The  reason  for  concluding  that  segregation  was  not  even 
a gradual  cure  was  that  it  was  very  apparent  that  segregation 
did  not  segregate;  that  there  were  more  people  plying  the  pro- 
fession of  a prostitute  outside  of  the  so-called  segregated  district 
than  there  were  in  that  district.  Regulation  regulates  in  vary- 
ing degree  according  to  the  efficacy  of  the  ofiScers  who  are  ad- 
ministering regulation.  For,  I assume,  that  we  all  start  with 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  though  regulation  has  had  no  legal 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


385 


recognition  that  it  has  been  in  varying  measure  a policy  in  this 
city  and  in  most  cities. 

“An  essential  part  of  the  idea  of  segregation  is  the  fact  that 
it  offers  a cohesion  between  the  groups  of  people  in  whom  there 
is  the  most  venereal  disease.  Venereal  disease  is,  like  other 
forms  of  contagion,  one  that  should  be  isolated  and  therefore 
that  we  will  gain  in  using  efforts  to  control  if  we  will  put  it 
under  observation  and  will  localize  it,  since  bringing  under  ob- 
servation and  localizing  is  the  method  that  is  employed  for  the 
control  of  diseases  that  are  very  similar  in  their  characteristics, 
at  least  from  the  contagion  standpoint. 

“But  if  this  is  to  be  efficacious  it  assumes  that  the  regula- 
tion of  venereal  diseases  in  segregated  districts  is  comparable 
with  the  regulation  of  smallpox  in  a smallpox  hospital,  or  of 
scarlet  fever  or  diphtheria,  either,  in  a scarlet  fever  or  diph- 
theria hospital,  or  else  in  homes  where  those  diseases  have 
been  placarded  and  where  the  diseases  are  under  supervision. 
And  one  of  the  reasons  for  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  segre- 
gation did  not  return  results  was  the  fact  that  the  medical 
inspection  that  prevails  in  the  segregated  districts  and  that  con- 
situtes  one  of  the  most  important  arguments  in  its  favor — in 
fact,  I believe  constitutes  usually  the  most  important  argument 
that  is  offered  in  its  favor, — is  that  this  medical  inspection 
serves  to  protect, — while,  as  a matter  of  fact,  medical  inspection 
in  houses  of  prostitution  is  no  more  of  a success  than  is  the 
policy  of  segregation  in  segregating  this  vice  away  from  other 
parts  of  the  community;  is  no  more  successful  than  is  regula- 
tion: in  fact,  is  the  least  successful  of  the  three  effects  that  are 
supposed  to  be  the  good  effects  of  this  particular  line  of  policy. 

“A  good  many  years  ago  this  particular  method,  as  a method 
of  controlling  vice,  was  adopted.  It  was  adopted  and  they  strove 
to  carry  it  out  in  countries  where  government  is  very  much 
more  powerful  than  it  is  in  this  country.  Particularly  was  this 
true  in  European  countries,  and  quite  generally  it  has  been 
abandoned  in  European  countries.’’ — Address  before  Committee 
of  Aldermen,  Chicago,  November  11,  1912. 

We  take  issue  with  the  writer  of  this  anonymous  “appendix’’ 
when  he  says,  “from  time  to  time  since  the  earliest  history  of 
human  government  efforts  have  been  made  to  suppress  prostitu- 


386 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


tion.”  Abundant  evidence  is  given  in  this  volume  that  human 
governments  have  not  made  efforts  by  constitutional  or  sustained 
law  to  suppress  this  evil. 

Occasionally  rules  have  been  enforced  by  rigid  reformers 
up  to  the  extreme  of  persecution.  Ancient  Puritans  exercised 
their  power  in  this  way.  Shakspeare  has  thus  dramatized  an 
old  law,  in  the  over-zealous  and  unjust  deputy  in  “Measure  for 
Measure.”  Such  means  have  always  defeated  themselves,  as 
when  Charlemagne  issued  his  tyrannous  edicts  which,  as  Sanger 
says,  “directed  vulgar  prostitutes  to  be  scourged,  and  treated 
the  same  act  as  a crime  among  the  poor,  and  an  excusable 
habit  among  the  rich.” 

The  anonymous  Sanger  “appendix”  says  this,  “There  are 
ample  laws  against  prostitution,  both  human  and  divine;  but  all 
attempts  to  rigidly  enforce  them,  whether  dictated  by  considera- 
tions of  public  policy  or  sentiments  of  religious  duty,  have  sig- 
nally failed  whenever  or  wherever  they  have  been  made.” 

That  there  are  divine  laws,  ample  and  qualified  to  meet  the 
evil  if  obeyed,  needs  no  statement,  and  that  there  are  numerous 
statutes  in  our  various  states  is  readily  admitted,  but  the  laws 
of  this  and  other  countries,  on  this  subject,  have  been  inter- 
preted and  employed  to  defeat  the  end  for  which  they  were 
supposed  to  exist.  They  have  not  been  used  to  suppress  the 
traffic,  but  generally  to  regulate  and  permit  it.  There  has  been 
no  law  simple  and  effective — a protection  against  vice  resorts. 
While  common  law  has  declared  these  to  be  nuisances,  no 
weapon  has  been  given  the  people  with  which  to  suppress  them. 
Until  Iowa  passed  the  Injunction  and  Abatement  Law  no  such 
weapon  was  available  in  any  state.  It  is  gratifying  to  know 
that  a similar  law  has  now  been  passed  in  twelve  other  states 
and  also  by  Congress  for  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Much  more  might  be  said  about  this  “appendix,”  but  suffi- 
cient has  been  said  to  show  that  reference  to  it  should  be  re- 
garded with  caution  and  suspicion. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


387 


APPENDIX  IV. 

THE  INJUNCTION  AND  ABATEMENT  LAW. 

The  following  is  a copy  of  the  hill  passed  by  the  Sixty-third 
Congress  at  Washington.  It  was  signed  by  President  Woodrow 
Wilson  on  February  7,  1914,  and  became  law  from  that  date. 
This  law  is  substantially  the  same  as  the  Iowa  Law,  and  also 
of  other  States,  except  where  clauses  have  been  added  or  omitted 
in  harmony  with  State  statutes: 

AN  ACT  to  enjoin  and  abate  houses  of  lewdness,  assignation, 
and  prostitution;  to  declare  the  same  to  be  nuisances;  to 
enjoin  the  person  or  persons  who  conduct  or  maintain  the 
same  and  the  owner  or  agent  of  any  building  used  for  such 
purpose;  and  to  assess  a tax  against  the  person  maintain- 
ing said  nuisance  and  against  the  building  and  owner 
thereof. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  who- 
ever shall  erect,  establish,  continue,  maintain,  use,  own,  occupy, 
or  re-lease  any  building,  erection,  or  place  used  for  the  purpose 
of  lewdness,  assignation,  or  prostitution  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia is  guilty  of  a nuisance,  and  the  building,  erection,  or 
place,  or  the  ground  itself  in  or  upon  which  such  lewdness, 
assignation,  or  prostitution  is  conducted,  permitted,  or  carried 
on,  continued,  or  exists,  and  the  furniture,  fixtures,  musical 
instruments,  and  contents  are  also  declared  a nuisance  and  shall 
be  enjoined  and  abated  as  hereinafter  provided. 

Sec.  2.  That  whenever  a nuisance  is  kept,  maintained,  or 
exists  as  defined  in  this  act  the  attorney  of  the  United  States 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  the  Attorney  General  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  citizen  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  may 
maintain  an  action  in  equity  in  the  name  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  upon  the  relation  of  such  attorney  of  the  United 
States  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  Attorney  General  of  the 
United  States,  or  citizen,  to  perpetually  enjoin  said  nuisance, 
the  person  or  persons  conducting  or  maintaining  the  «ame. 


388 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


and  the  owner  or  agent  of  the  building  or  ground  upon  which 
said  nuisance  exists.  In  such  action  the  court,  or  a judge  in 
vacation,  shall,  upon  the  presentation  of  a petition  therefor 
alleging  that  the  nuisance  complained  of  exists,  allow  a tem- 
porary writ  of  injunction,  without  bond,  if  it  shall  be  made 
to  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  or  judge  by  evidence 
in  the  form  of  affidavits,  depositions,  oral  testimony,  or  other 
wise,  as  the  complainant  may  elect,  unless  the  court  or  judge 
by  previous  order  shall  have  directed  the  form  and  manner  in 
which  it  shall  be  presented.  Three  days’  notice,  in  writing, 
shall  be  given  the  defendant  of  the  hearing  of  the  application, 
and  if  then  continued  at  his  instance  the  writ  as  prayed  shall 
be  granted  as  a matter  of  course.  When  an  injunction  has  been 
granted  it  shall  be  binding  on  the  defendant  throughout  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  any  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
injunction  herein  provided  shall  be  a contempt  as  hereinafter 
provided. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  action  when  brought  shall  be  triable  at 
the  first  term  of  court,  after  due  and  timely  service  of  the 
notice  has  been  given,  and  in  such  action  evidence  of  the  gen- 
eral reputation  of  the  place  shall  be  admissible  for  the  purpose 
of  proving  the  existence  of  said  nuisance.  If  the  complaint  is 
filed  by  a citizen,  it  shall  not  be  dismissed,  except  upon  a sworn 
statement  made  by  the  complainant  and  his  attorney,  setting 
forth  the  reasons  why  the  action  should  be  dismissed,  and  the 
dismissal  approved  by  the  attorney  of  the  United  States  for  the 
District  of  Columbia  or  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  writing  or  in  open  court.  If  the  court 
is  of  the  opinion  that  the  action  ought  not  to  be  dismissed,  it 
may  direct  the  attorney  of  the  United  States  for  the  District 
of  Columbia  to  prosecute  said  action  to  judgment;  and  if  the 
action  is  continued  more  than  one  term  of  court,  any  citizen 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  the  attorney  of  the  United 
States  for  the  district  of  Columbia,  may  be  substituted  for  the 
complaining  party  and  prosecute  said  action  to  judgment.  If 
the  action  is  brought  by  a citizen,  and  the  court  finds  there 
was  no  reasonable  grounds  for  said  action,  the  costs  may  be 
taxed  to  such  citizen. 

Sec.  4.  That  in  case  of  the  violation  of  any  injunction 
granted  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  court,  or  in  vaca- 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


389 


(ion,  a judge  thereof,  may  summarily  try  and  punish  the  of- 
fender. 

The  proceedings  shall  be  commenced  by  filing  with  the  clerk 
of  the  court  an  information,  under  oath,  setting  out  the  al- 
leged facts  constituting  such  violation,  upon  which  the  court 
or  judge  shall  cause  a warrant  to  issue,  under  which  the  de- 
fendant shall  be  arrested.  The  trial  may  be  had  upon  affidavits, 
or  either  party  may  at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings  demand 
the  production  and  oral  examination  of  the  witnesses.  A party 
found  guilty  of  contempt,  under  the  provisions  of  this  section, 
shall  be  punished  by  a fine  of  not  less  than  $200  nor  more 
than  $1,000  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  District  jail  not  less 
than  three  months  nor  more  than  six  months,  or  by  both  fine 
and  imprisonment. 

Sec.  5.  That  if  the  existence  of  the  nuisance  be  established 
in  an  action  as  provided  in  this  act,  or  in  a criminal  proceed- 
ings, an  order  of  abatement  shall  be  entered  as  a part  of  the 
judgment  in  the  case,  which  order  shall  direct  the  removal 
from  the  building  or  place  of  all  fixtures,  furniture,  musical 
instruments,  or  movable  property  used  in  conducting  the  nui- 
sance, and  shall  direct  the  sale  thereof  in  the  manner  provided 
for  the  sale  of  chattels  under  execution,  and  the  effectual  clos- 
ing of  the  building  or  place  against  its  use  for  any  purpose, 
and  so  keeping  it  closed  for  a period  of  one  year,  unless  sooner 
released.  If  any  person  shall  break  and  enter  or  use  a building, 
erection,  or  place  so  directed  to  be  closed  he  shall  be  punished 
as  for  contempt,  as  provided  in  the  preceding  section. 

Sec.  6.  That  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  personal  prop- 
erty, as  provided  in  the  preceding  section,  shall  be  applied  in 
the  payment  of  the  costs  of  the  action  and  abatement,  and  the 
balance,  if  any,  shall  be  paid  to  the  defendant. 

Sec.  7.  That  if  the  owner  appears  and  pays  all  costs  of  the 
proceeding  and  files  a bond,  with  sureties  to  be  approved  by 
the  clerk,  in  the  full  value  of  the  property,  to  be  ascertained 
by  the  court  or,  in  vacation,  by  the  collector  of  taxes  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  conditioned  that  he  will  immediately  abate 
said  nuisance  and  prevent  the  same  from  being  established  or 
kept  within  a period  of  one  year  thereafter,  the  court,  or,  in 
vacation,  the  judge,  may,  if  satisfied  of  his  good  faith,  order  the 
premises  closed  under  the  order  of  abatement  to  be  delivered 


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The  World’s  Social  Evil 


to  said  owner  and  said  order  of  abatement  canceled  bo  far  as 
the  same  may  relate  to  said  property;  and  If  the  proceeding  be 
an  action  in  equity  and  said  bond  be  given  and  costs  therein 
paid  before  judgment  and  order  of  abatement,  the  action  shall 
be  thereby  abated  as  to  said  building  only.  The  release  of  the 
property  under  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  release 
it  from  judgment,  lien,  penalty,  or  liability  to  which  it  may 
be  subject  by  law. 

Sec.  8.  That  whenever  a permanent  injunction  issues 
against  any  person  for  maintaining  a nuisance  as  herein  defined, 
or  against  any  owner  or  agent  of  the  building  kept  or  used  for 
the  purpose  prohibited  by  this  act,  there  shall  be  assessed 
against  said  building  and  the  ground  upon  which  the  same 
is  located  and  against  the  person  or  persons  maintaining  said 
nuisance,  and  the  owner  or  agent  of  said  premises,  a tax  of  $300. 
The  assessment  of  said  tax  shall  be  made  by  the  assessor  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  and  shall  be  made  within  three  months 
from  the  date  of  the  granting  of  the  permanent  injunction. 
In  case  the  assessor  fails  or  neglects  to  make  said  assessment 
the  same  shall  be  made  by  the  chief  of  police,  and  a return 
of  said  assessment  shall  be  made  to  the  collector  of  taxes.  Said 
tax  shall  be  a perpetual  lien  upon  all  property,  both  personal 
and  real,  used  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  said  nuisance, 
and  the  payment  of  said  tax  shall  not  relieve  the  person  or 
building  from  any  other  penalties  provided  by  law.  The  pro- 
visions of  the  law  relating  to  the  collection  and  distribution 
of  taxes  upon  personal  and  real  property  shall  govern  in  the 
collection  and  distribution  of  the  tax  herein  prescribed  in  so 
far  as  the  same  are  applicable  and  not  in  confiict  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act. 

Sec.  9.  The  United  States  district  attorney  or  other  at- 
corney  representing  the  prosecution  for  violation  of  this  statute, 
with  the  approval  of  the  court,  may  grant  immunity  to  any 
witness  called  to  testify  in  behalf  of  the  prosecution. 

Passed  the  Senate  October  27,  1913. 


APPENDIX  V. 


PANDERING  ACT. 

(Passed  by  Congress  and  Approved  June  25,  1910.) 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
any  person  who,  by  threats  by  himself,  or  through  another, 
induces,  or  by  any  device  or  scheme  inveigles,  any  female  into 
a house  of  prostitution,  or  of  assignation,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  against  her  will,  or  by  any  threats  or  duress  de- 
tains her  against  her  will,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or 
sexual  intercourse,  or  takes  or  detains  a female,  against  her 
will  with  intent  to  compel  her  by  force,  threats,  menace,  or 
duress  to  marry  him,  or  to  marry  any  other  person,  or  if  any 
parent,  guardian,  or  other  person  having  legal  custody  of  the 
person  of  a female  consents  to  her  taking  or  detention  by  any 
person  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  sexual  intercourse,  is 
guilty  of  pandering,  and  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
for  a term  of  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  five  years  and 
fined  not  more  than  one  thousand  dollars. 

Sec.  2.  That  any  person  who,  against  her  will,  shall  place 
any  female  in  the  charge  or  custody  of  any  person  or  persons 
or  in  a house  of  prostitution  with  the  intent  that  she  shall  live 
a life  of  prostitution,  or  any  person  who  shall  compel  any 
female,  against  her  will,  to  reside  with  him  or  with  any  other 
person  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  compel  her  against 
her  will  to  live  a life  of  prostitution,  is  guilty  of  pandering  and 
shall  be  punished  by  a fine  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  dol- 
lars and  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than 
five  years. 

Sec.  3.  That  any  person  who  shall  receive  any  money  or 
other  valuable  thing,  for  or  on  account  of  procuring  for  or 
placing  in  a house  of  prostitution  or  elsewhere  any  female  for 
the  purpose  of  causing  her  illegally  to  cohabit  with  any  male 
person  or  persons  shall  be  guilty  of  a felony,  and  upon  con- 
viction thereof  shall  be  imprisoned  for  not  less  than  one  nor 
more  than  five  years. 

Sec.  4.  That  any  person  who  by  force,  fraud,  intimida- 
tion, or  threats  places  or  leaves,  or  procures  any  other  person 
or  persons  to  place  or  leave,  his  wife  in  a house  of  prostitution, 
or  to  lead  a life  of  prostitution,  shall  he  guilty  of  a felony,  and 
upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  imprisoned  not  less  than  one 
nor  more  than  ten  years. 

Sec.  5.  That  any  person  or  persons  who  attempt  to  detain 
any  girl  or  woman  in  a disorderly  house  or  house  of  prostitu- 
tion because  of  any  debt  or  debts  she  has  contracted,  or  is  said 
to  have  contracted,  while  living  in  said  house  of  prostitution 
or  disorderly  house  shall  be  guilty  of  a felony,  and  on  convic- 
tion thereof  be  imprisoned  for  a term  not  less  than  one  nor  more 
than  five  years. 


APPENDIX  VI. 

CHART  OF  LAWS  TO  SUPPRESS  PROSTITUTION 


International  Treaty— see  pages  357-358. 

f 1.  White  Slave  iS'afiSc  Act,  June  25,  1910— see  pages  358-359. 

I 2.  Act  to  Define  and  Prohibit  Pandering.  June  25,  1910  — see 
National  Laws  ■{  page  391. 

3.  Act  to  Regulate  Immigration  of  Persons  for  Purposes  of  Pros- 
l titution.  and  Others,  March  6,  1910. 


States,  etc.  Age  of  Consent  State  Laws  Passed  Prohibiting  Disorderly  Houses 


Alabama  

Alaska  

Arizona  

Arkansas  

California  .... 

Colorado  

Connecticut  . . . 
Delaware  

Dist.  Columbia 
Florida  


Georgia* 

Hawaii 


Idaho 

Illinois 


Indiana  

Iowa  

Kansas  

Kentucky  ... 
Louisiana  . . . 

Maine  

Maryland  .... 
Massachusetts 


Michigan 


14 

16 


17 
16 
16 

18 
16 

7 

16 

18 


10 

10 


18 

16 


16 

15 

18 

16 
12 
16 
16 
16 


16 


Statute  merely  declares  keeper  a va- 
grant. 

Statute  forbids  setting  up  or  keeping 
a house  of  ill  fame. 

Keeping  of  disorderly  house  forbidden. 

Leasing  forbidden  in  certain  limits. 
Statute  gives  cities  power  to  suppress. 

No  state  law  forbidding  such  houses. 
Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  and  leasing. 
Statute  punishes  keeper  of  such  houses. 
Statutes  forbid  keeping  such  houses. 
Statute  forbids  keeping  and  leasing 
such  houses. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1914. 
Statute  names  penalty  for  keeping. 
Lease  voidable  after  conviction  of 
tenant. 

Statutes  forbid  keeping  such  houses. 
Statute  forbids  keeping  and  leasing. 
Owner  may  terminate  lease  upon  no- 
tice. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 
Statutes  forbid:  Keeping  houses  of 
prostitution;  licensing  houses  of 
prostitution;  keeping  boats,  etc.,  for 
prostitution. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  or  leasing. 
Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1909. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  or  leasing. 
Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 
No  statute  on  subject. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 
Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  leasing. 
Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 
Statute  prohibits  such  houses.  Statute 
punishes  persons  who  knowingly 
lease. 

Keeping  such  house  forbidden.  Owner 
punished  for  knowingly  leasing  such 
house. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


393 


States,  etc.  Aj?e  of  Consent 


Minnesota  18 

Mississippi  12 

Missouri  14 

Montana  16 

Nebraska  18 

Nevada  16 

New  Hampshire....  16 

New  Jersey 16 

New  Mexico 14 

New  York 18 

North  Carolina 14 

North  Dakota 16 

Ohio  16 

Oklahoma  18 

Oregon  16 

Pennsylvania  16 

Rhode  Island 16 

South  Carolina 14 

South  Dakota 16 

Tennessee  18 

Texas  15 

Utah  18 

Vermont  16 

Virginia  14 

Washington  18 

West  Virginia 14 

Wisconsin  14 

Wyoming  18 


state  Laws  Passed  Prohibiting  Disorderly  Houses 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

No  statute  on  subject. 

Keeping  and  leasing  forbidden.  Keep- 
ing house  within  100  yds.  of  church, 
etc.,  felony. 

Keeping  and  leasing  prohibited. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1911. 
Using,  leasing  or  sub-letting  houses 
forbidden. 

Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  letting 

within  certain  limits. 

Statute  gives  cities  power  to  suppress. 

Statute  gives  cities  power  to  suppress. 

No  statute  on  subject. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  and  leasing 

such  houses.  Special  laws  on  pros- 
titution in  tenement  houses. 

No  statute  on  subject. 

Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  leasing. 

Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  leasing. 

Nuisance  abated  on  conviction  of 
owner. 

Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  leasing. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  houses. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 
Statute  forbids  keeping  or  leasing. 

Penalty  named  for  maintaining  and 

leasing.  Lease  voidable  on  convic- 
tion of  tenant. 

No  statute  on  subject. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 
Statutes  forbid  keeping  and  leasing. 

Nuisance  abated  on  conviction  of 
owner. 

Statute  punishes  owner  or  lessee  for 
keeping  such  house. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  such  houses. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Keeping  and  leasing  such  houses  for- 
bidden. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  and  leasing. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law,  1913. 

Statute  forbids  keeping,  selling  up  or 

leasing. 

Statute  forbids  keeping  or  knowingly 
leasing. 


APPENDIX  VII. 


THE  WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

THE  “MANN”  ACT. 

Approved  June  25,  1910. 

Section  1.  States  the  operation  of  the  Act  in  the  United 
States  or  foreign  country. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the 
term  “interstate  commerce,”  as  used  in  this  Act,  shall  include 
transportation  from  any  State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of 
Columbia  to  any  other  State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  the  term  “foreign  commerce,”  as  used  in  this  Act, 
shall  include  transportation  from  any  State  or  Territory  or  the 
District  of  Columbia  to  any  foreign  country  and  from  any  foreign 
country  to  any  State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Sec.  2.  That  any  person  who  shall  knowingly  transport  or 
cause  to  be  transported,  or  aid  or  assist  in  obtaining  transporta- 
tion for,  or  in  transporting,  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce, 
or  in  any  Territory  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  any  woman 
or  girl  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  debauchery,  or  for 
any  other  immoral  purpose,  or  with  the  intent  and  purpose  to 
induce,  entice,  or  compel  such  woman  or  girl  to  become  a pros- 
titute or  to  give  herself  up  to  debauchery,  or  to  engage  in  any 
other  immoral  practice;  or  who  shall  knowingly  procure  or 
obtain,  or  cause  to  be  procured  or  obtained,  or  aid  or  assist  in 
procuring  or  obtaining,  any  ticket  or  tickets,  or  any  form  of 
transportation  or  evidence  of  the  right  thereto  to  be  used  by 
any  woman  or  girl  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce,  or  in  any 
Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  going  to  any  place  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  debauchery,  or  for  any  other 
immoral  purpose,  or  with  the  Intent  or  purpose  on  the  part  of 
such  person  to  induce,  entice,  or  compel  her  to  give  herself  up 
to  the  practice  of  prostitution,  or  to  give  herself  up  to  de- 
bauchery, or  any  other  immoral  practice,  whereby  any  such 
woman  or  girl  shall  be  transported  in  interstate  or  foreign  com- 
merce, or  in  any  Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  shall 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


395 


be  deemed  guilty  of  a felony,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall 
be  punished  by  a fine  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  or  by 
imprisonment  of  not  more  than  five  years,  or  by  both  such  fine 
and  imprisonment,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

Sec.  3.  That  any  person  who  shall  knowingly  persuade,  in- 
duce, entice,  or  coerce,  or  cause  to  be  persuaded,  induced,  en- 
ticed, or  coerced,  or  aid  or  assist  in  persuading,  inducing,  entic- 
ing, or  coercing  any  woman  or  girl  to  go  from  one  place  to 
another  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce,  or  in  any  Territory 
or  the  District  of  Columbia,  lor  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or 
debauchery,  or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  or  with  the 
intent  and  purpose  on  the  part  of  such  person  that  such  woman 
or  girl  shall  engage  in  the  practice  of  prostitution  or  debauchery, 
or  any  other  immoral  practice,  whether  with  or  without  her 
consent,  and  who  shall  thereby  knowingly  cause  or  aid  or  assist 
in  causing  such  woman  or  girl  to  go  and  to  be  carried  or  trans- 
ported as  a passenger  upon  the  line  or  route  of  any  common 
carrier  or  carriers  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce,  or  any 
Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
felony  and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be  punished  by  a fine  of 
not  more  than  five  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  a 
term  not  exceeding  five  years,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprison- 
ment, in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

Sec.  4.  That  any  person  who  shall  knowingly  persuade,  in- 
duce, entice,  or  coerce  any  woman  or  girl  under  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  from  any  State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of 
Columbia  to  any  other  State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of 
Columbia,  with  the  purpose  and  intent  to  induce  or  coerce  her, 
or  that  she  shall  be  induced  or  coerced  to  engage  in  prostitution 
or  debauchery,  or  any  other  immoral  practice,  and  shall  in  fur- 
therance of  such  purpose  knowingly  induce  or  cause  her  to  go 
and  to  be  carried  or  transported  as  a passenger  in  interstate 
commerce  upon  the  line  or  route  of  any  common  carrier  or 
carriers,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a felony,  and  on  conviction 
thereof  shall  be  punished  by  a fine  of  not  more  than  ten  thousand 
dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  a term  not  exceeding  ten  years, 
or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in  the  discretion  of  the 
court. 

Sec.  6.  That  any  violation  of  any  of  the  above  sections  two, 
three  and  four,  shall  be  prosecuted  in  any  court  having  juris- 


396 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


diction  of  crimes  within  the  district  in  which  said  violation  was 
committed,  or  from,  through,  or  into  which  any  such  woman 
or  girl  may  have  been  carried  or  transported  as  a passenger  in 
interstate  or  foreign  commerce,  or  in  any  Territory  or  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  any  of  said 
sections. 

Sec.  6.  That  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  and  preventing 
the  transportation  in  foreign  commerce  of  alien  w'omen  and 
girls  for  purposes  of  prostitution  and  debauchery,  and  in  pur- 
suance of  and  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the 
agreement  or  project  of  arrangement  for  the  suppression  of  the 
white-slave  traflSc,  adopted  July  twenty-fifth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  two,  for  submission  to  their  respective  governments  by  the 
delegates  of  various  powers  represented  at  the  Paris  conference 
and  confirmed  by  a formal  agreement  signed  at  Paris  on  May 
eighteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  four,  and  adhered  to  by  the 
United  States  on  June  sixth,  nineteen  hundred  and  eight,  as 
shown  by  the  proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
dated  June  fifteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  eight,  the  Com- 
missioner-General of  Immigration  is  hereby  designated  as  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  to  receive  and  centralize  informa- 
tion concerning  the  procuration  of  alien  women  and  girls  with 
a view  to  their  debauchery,  and  to  exercise  supervision  over 
such  alien  women  and  girls,  receive  their  declarations,  estab- 
lish their  identity,  and  ascertain  from  them  who  induced  them 
to  leave  their  native  countries,  respectively;  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  said  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration  to  receive 
and  keep  on  file  in  his  office  the  statements  and  declarations 
which  may  be  made  by  such  alien  women  and  girls,  and  those 
which  are  hereinafter  required  pertaining  to  such  alien  wom- 
en and  girls  engaged  in  prostitution  or  debauchery  in  this 
country,  and  to  furnish  receipts  for  such  statements  and  decla- 
rations provided  for  in  this  act  to  the  persons,  respectively, 
making  and  filing  them. 

Every  person  who  shall  keep,  maintain,  control,  support,  or 
harbor  in  any  house  or  place  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or 
for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  any  alien  woman  or  girl  within 
three  years  after  she  shall  have  entered  the  United  States  from 
any  country,  party  to  the  said  arrangement  for  the  suppression 
of  the  white-slave  traffic,  shall  file  with  the  Commissioner- 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


397 


General  of  Immigration  a statement  in  writing  setting  forth  the 
name  of  such  alien  woman  or  girl,  the  place  at  which  she  is 
kept,  and  all  facts  as  to  the  date  of  her  entry  into  the  United 
States,  the  port  through  which  she  entered,  her  age,  nationality, 
and  parentage,  and  concerning  her  procuration  to  come  to  this 
country  within  the  knowledge  of  such  person,  and  any  person 
who  shall  fail  within  thirty  days  after  such  person  shall  com- 
mence to  keep,  maintain,  control,  support,  or  harbor  in  any 
house  or  place  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  for  any  other 
immoral  purpose,  any  alien  woman  or  girl  within  three  years 
after  she  shall  have  entered  the  United  States  from  any  of  the 
countries,  party  to  the  said  arrangement  for  the  suppression 
of  the  white-slave  traffic,  to  file  such  statement  concerning  such 
alien  woman  or  girl  with  the  Commissioner-General  of  Immi- 
gration, or  who  shall  knowingly  and  willfully  state  falsely  or 
fail  to  disclose  in  such  statement  any  fact  within  his  knowledge 
or  belief  with  reference  to  the  age,  nationality,  or  parentage  of 
any  such  alien  woman  or  girl,  or  concerning  her  procuration  to 
come  to  this  country,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a misdemeanor, 
and  on  conviction  shall  be  punished  by  a fine  of  not  more  than 
two  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment,  for  a term  not  ex- 
ceeding two  years,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in 
the  discretion  of  the  court. 

In  any  prosecution  brought  under  this  section,  if  it  appear 
that  any  such  statement  required  is  not  on  file  in  the  office  of 
the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigration,  the  person  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  file  such  statement  shall  be  presumed  to  have 
failed  to  file  said  statement,  as  herein  required,  unless  such 
person  or  persons  shall  prove  otherwise.  No  person  shall  be  ex- 
cused from  furnishing  the  statement,  as  required  by  this  sec- 
tion, on  thp  ground  or  foi  the  reason  that  the  statement  so 
required  by  him,  or  the  information  therein  contained,  might 
tend  to  criminate  him  or  subject  him  to  a penalty  or  forfeiture, 
but  no  person  shall  be  prosecuted  or  subjected  to  any  penalty 
or  forfeiture  under  any  law  of  the  United  States  for  or  on  ac- 
count of  any  transaction,  matter,  or  thing,  concerning  which 
he  may  truthfully  report  in  such  statement,  as  required  by 
the  provisions  of  this  section. 

Sec.  7.  That  the  term  “Territory,”  as  used  in  this  Act, 
shall  include  the  district  of  Alaska,  the  insular  possessions  of 


398 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


the  United  States,  and  the  Canal  Zone.  The  word  “person,”  as 
used  In  this  Act,  shall  be  construed  to  import  both  the  plural 
and  the  singular,  as  the  case  demands,  and  shall  include  cor- 
porations, companies,  societies,  and  associations.  When  con- 
struing and  enforcing  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  the  act,  omis- 
sion, or  failure  of  any  officer,  agent,  or  other  person,  acting 
for  or  employed  by  any  other  person  or  by  any  corporation, 
company,  society,  or  association  within  the  scope  of  his  em- 
ployment or  office,  shall  in  every  case  be  also  deemed  to  be 
the  act,  omission,  or  failure  of  such  other  person,  or  of  such 
company,  corporation,  society,  or  association,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  person  himself. 

Sec.  8.  That  this  Act  shall  be  known  and  referred  to  as 
the  “White-slave  traffic  Act.” 


APPENDIX  VIII. 

REGULATION  OF  IMMIGRATION. 

(Act  Passed  by  Congress  and  Approved  February  20,  1910.) 

This  act  excludes  from  admission  into  the  United  States 
“ail  prostitutes,  or  women  or  girls  for  the  purpose  of  prostitu- 
tion or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose;  persons  who  are  sup- 
ported by  or  receive  in  whole  or  in  part  the  proceeds  of  prosti- 
tution; persons  who  procure  or  attempt  to  bring  in  prostitutes 
or  women  or  girls  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  for  any 
other  immoral  purpose;  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age 
unaccompanied  by  one  or  both  of  their  parents,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  or  under  such  regu- 
lations as  he  may  from  time  to  time  prescribe.” 

“Sec.  3.  That  the  importation  into  the  United  States  of 
any  alien  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  for  any  other  im- 
moral purpose  is  hereby  forbidden;  and  whoever  shall,  directly 
or  indirectly,  import,  or  attempt  to  import,  into  the  United 
States,  any  alien  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  for  any 
other  immoral  purpose,  or  whoever  shall  hold  or  attempt  to 
hold  any  alien  for  any  such  purpose  in  pursuance  of  such  il- 
legal importation,  or  whoever  shall  keep,  maintain,  control. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


399 


support,  employ,  or  harbor  in  any  house  or  other  place,  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution  or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  in 
pursuance  of  such  illegal  importation,  any  alien,  shall,  in  every 
such  case  be  deemed  guilty  of  a felony,  and  on  conviction 
thereof  be  imprisoned  not  more  than  ten  years  and  pay  a fine 
of  not  more  than  five  thousand  dollars.  .Jurisdiction  for  the 
trial  and  punishment  of  the  felonies  hereinbefore  set  forth  shall 
be  in  any  district  to  or  into  which  said  alien  is  brought  in 
pursuance  of  said  importation  by  the  person  or  persons  accused, 
or  in  any  district  in  which  a violation  of  any  of  the  foregoing 
provisions  of  this  section  occur.  Any  alien  who  shall  be  found 
an  inmate  of  or  connected  with  the  management  of  a house 
of  prostitution  of  practicing  prostitution  after  such  alien  shall 
have  entered  the  United  States,  or  who  shall  receive,  share 
in,  or  derive  benefit  from  any  part  of  the  earnings  of  any  pros- 
titute; or  who  is  employed  by,  in,  or  in  connection  with  any 
house  of  prostitution  or  music  or  dance  hall  or  other  place  of 
amusement  or  resort  habitually  frequented  by  prostitutes,  or 
where  prostitutes  gather,  or  who  in  any  way  assists,  protects, 
or  promises  to  protect  from  arrest  any  prostitute,  shall  be 
deemed  to  be  unlawfully  within  the  United  States  and  shall 
be  deported  in  the  manner  provided  by  sections  twenty  and 
twenty-one  of  this  Act.  That  any  alien  who  shall,  after  he 
has  been  debarred  or  deported  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of 
this  section,  attempt  thereafter  to  return  to  or  to  enter  the 
United  States  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a misdemeanor,  and 
shall  be  imprisoned  for  not  more  than  two  years.  Any  alien 
who  shall  be  convicted  under  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion shall,  at  the  expiration  of  his  sentence,  be  taken  into  cus- 
tody and  returned  to  the  country  whence  he  came,  or  of  which 
he  is  a subject  or  a citizen  in  the  manner  provided  in  sections 
twenty  and  twenty-one  of  this  Act.  In  all  prosecutions  under 
this  section  the  testimony  of  a husband  or  wife  shall  be  ad- 
missable  and  competent  evidence  against  a wife  or  husband.” 


APPENDIX  IX. 


BULLETIN  OF  CAMPAIGN 

At  Atlanta,  Ga.,  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Men  and 
Religion  Forward  Movement,  published  about  forty  bulletins 
in  the  daily  papers  of  that  city,  paying  for  them  as  adver- 
tisements. “In  September,  four  months  after  the  appearance 
of  the  first  bulletin,  the  day  before  the  publication  of  No.  20,  the 
Chief  of  Police  issued  the  order  which  closed  the  segregated 
district,  and  the  recognized  houses  of  prostitution  in  the  city.” 

The  following  is  a copy  of  No.  1 of  these  bulletins: 


Ere  she  can  walk  alone,  the  girl  clasps  her  doll.  As  child- 
hood slips  away,  she  lays  aside  the  toy  and,  with  beating  heart, 
innocently  craving  companions,  seeks  to  be  attractive.  By  her 
nature,  God  is  calling  her  to  the  glory  of  motherhood. 

But  a girl  betrayed  is  of  commercial  value  in  the  houses  in 
our  midst;  and  men  set  traps  for  her  feet. 

Drawn  and  impelled  by  forces  she  does  not  understand,  lured 
by  lies  or  driven  by  want,  she  falls  into  the  hands  of  her  hunters. 
Her  heart  is  broken,  the  instinct  for  motherhood  destroyed;  but 
in  our  markets  there  is  a fallen  woman — the  girl — to  be  sold  and 
resold  until  death,  more  merciful  than  men,  gives  sleep. 

The  dead  and  unfit  must  be  replaced  with  frightful  frequency 
since  five  to  seven  years  is  the  average  life,  in  the  houses;  while 
the  traffic  lasts,  an  inexorable  law  of  supply  and  demand  applies. 
In  the  United  States  sixty  thousand  girls  and  more  are  required 
annually  to  meet  the  needs  of  “the  white  slave  trade.” 

Whence  do  they  come?  Whose  girls  are  they?  Whose  daugh- 
ters will  be  in  the  next  quota? 

The  hunters  are  ever  in  the  field  and  will  be  while  the 
houses  buy  and  sell. 

.lesus  said:  “All  things  therefore  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  also  unto  them.”  You 
would  not  have  men  give  to  these  beasts  in  human  form  the  right 
to  enter  your  home;  you  would  not  have  these  houses  wait  to 
receive  and  sell  those  whom  you  love;  you  cannot  approve  these 
unspeakable  things  for  the  daughters  of  other  men. 

Yet,  forty-four  houses  are  in  our  midst.  Toleration  of  them 
authorizes  the  procurers  to  seek  their  prey.  Their  stock  in  trade 
is  the  fallen  woman;  for  one  to  fall,  a girl  must  be  deceived;  a 
license  to  the  open  market  is  a permit  to  the  hunter  to  pursue  and 
obtain  the  victims  for  sale  therein. 


The  World’s  Social  Evil 


401 


The  Golden  Rule  requires  action. 

Were  you  to  see  these  harpies  aflame  with  the  hope  of  gain 
hovering  over  your  home  and  children,  you  would  not  prate  of 
"necessary  evils,’’  nor  would  you  rest  content  with  praying,  "Thy 
will  be  done”;  you  would  fight  to  destroy — to  uproot  the  root  of 
the  evil,  the  houses  in  our  midst.  You  should  not  stand  idle  and 
silent  while  the  hunters  seek  and  the  houses  await  for  your 
neighbor’s  daughters. 

The  shame  of  these  houses  depending  for  their  merchandise 
upon  the  seduction  of  girls  cries  out  to  God  against  us. 

None  would  hurt  the  pitiful  Inmates.  Help  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  offered  those  who  will  leave  the  life!  But  in  His 
Name  let  us  put  an  end  to  the  shameful  commerce! 

Laws  of  the  State  of  Georgia  and  Ordinances  of  the  City  of 
Atlanta  forbid  the  existence  of  these  houses  in  our  midst.  The 
location  of  each  one  of  them,  the  daily  and  nightly  violation  of' 
the  law  and  ordinance,  is  known  to  the  police  force  and  the  police 
board,  whose  members  are  sworn  to  enforce  the  law. 

The  return  in  gold  and  good  to  our  city  from  the  wrecked 
li^’es  of  those  betrayed  must  be  great  to  have  Induced  her  citi- 
zens to  approve  so  long  this  open  disregard  of  the  law  of  God 
and  man.  It  should  not  continue! 

"It  is  time  for  you  to  awake  out  of  sleep.” 

Later  will  be  shown  the  price  paid  and  to  be  paid  by  innocent 
women  and  children  for  the  existence  of  the  houses  in  our  midst. 

THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  MEN  AND 
RELIGION  FORWARD  MOVEMENT. 


INDEX 

Authors  and  Other  Authorities  Quoted 


Acton,  Dr.  Wm.,  London,  Eng. 
Author  of  “Prostitution,”  120, 

170. 

Addams,  Jane.  Author  and  Phil- 
anthropist, 215,  217,  219,  221, 

262;  Bishop  of  Winchester’s 
tribute  to  her,  284. 

American  Commonwealth,  Jas. 
Bryce,  9. 

American  Journal  of  Sociology, 

171. 

American  Vigilance  Ass’n,  265. 
American  Social  Hygiene  Ass’n, 
265. 

Amos,  Sheldon,  Prof,  of  Jurispru- 
dence, Eng.  Lecky’s  picture  of 
the  prostitute  on,  14;  quoted, 
26,  27,  32,  44. 

Andrews,  Dr.,  Chicago  Med.  Coll. 
Gullability  of  Young  Men  on, 
119. 

Army  Reports,  Annual  (1905- 
1913),  173-178. 

Banks,  F.  C.,  Sec.  Nat’l  Ass’n  for 
Repeal  of  English  C.  D.  Acts, 
97. 

Barr,  Dr.,  Examining  Surg'.  Al- 
dershot, 145. 

Bebel,  A.  Author  of  “Woman, 
Past  and  Present,”  17. 

Bell,  Ernest  A.,  Sup’t  Midnight 
Mission,  Chicago,  69,  251,  254, 
258. 

Berkowitz,  Rabbi,  340. 

Bible,  The,  8,  16,  17,  273,  322,  334, 
344. 

"Bible  in  Shakspeare,”  27. 
Bingham,  Col.,  ex-Police  Com. 
N.  Y.,  67,  151. 

Blackstone,  Law  Authority,  144. 
Blaschko,  Dr.,  Berlin,  Hygienic 
Utopias  on,  131. 

"Blindness  of  Virtue,”  play  of, 
327,  331. 

Bloch,  M.  D.,  quoted  by  Flexner, 
32. 

Borel,  Pastor,  Switzerland,  62. 
Boynton,  Rev.  M.  P.,  Chicago,  252. 
Braestrup,  Dr.,  Copenhagen,  33. 
British  Royal  Commission,  29. 
Bright,  J.,  British  Statesman,  104. 
Brolaski,  a former  gambler,  155. 


Brooks,  T.  J.,  U.  S.  Senator,  255. 

Brussels,  Conferences,  133-6. 

Bryce,  Hon.  Jas.,  Author  and 
Statesman,  9. 

Bunting,  Percy,  British  Philan- 
thropist, 135. 

Burgess,  Wm.,  Author,  Chicago, 
27,  248,  252. 

Burns,  Robt.,  Scottish  Poet,  334. 

Butler,  Mrs.  Josephine  E.,  48,  50, 
54,  96,  144;  Mary  A.  Liver- 

more on,  100;  Anna  G.  Spencer 
on,  102;  Mission  to  Continent, 
231;  Appeal  to  Men  and  Wom- 
en, 233 ; Letter  on  Chief  of 
Paris  Police,  277,  379;  first  tour 
in  Europe,  278;  Rescue  and 
Abolition  on,  300. 

Byron,  Lord,  Women  and  Purity 
on,  230. 

Cabot,  Dr.  Richard  C.,  Physician 
and  Author,  352. 

Caldwell,  J.  B.,  Chicago,  263. 

Carlyle,  Thos.,  353. 

Carpenter,  Mary,  England,  96,  339, 
379. 

Casparin,  Countess,  Switzerland, 
53. 

Chase,  .1.  F.,  Boston,  Sec.  Watch 
and  Ward  Society,  253. 

Chapman,  Dr.,  Physician,  London 
and  Paris,  Editor  of  Westmin- 
ster Review,  119,  380. 

Chief,  police  organ,  N.  Y.,  153. 

Chicago  Tribune.  78,  384. 

Chicago  Vice  Commission  Report, 
73,  78,  192,  225,  259;  repression 
advocated  by,  260. 

Church  Times,  Hebrew  family 
life  on,  340. 

Clark,  Dr.  Bayard,  Surg.  Bellevue 
Hospital,  New  York,  on  Gonor- 
rhoea Widespread,  167. 

Coke,  Law  Authority,  144. 

Conference,  Paris  White-Slave 
'Traffic,  Report  of,  61. 

“Commercialized  Prostitution,” 
Kneeland,  289. 

Committee  of  Fourteen,  New 
York,  77,  152. 

Committee  of  Seven.  Medical,  160, 
244. 


Committee  of  Fifteen,  Chicago, 
289. 

Committee  of  Fifteen,  New  York, 
244. 

Congress,  U.  S.,  Health  Reports, 
46. 

Congress,  Madrid,  Report  of,  52. 

Congress,  International  London, 
282. 

Coote,  W.  A.,  Sec.  Vigilance  Ass’n, 
London,  242;  Vision  of,  279; 
Book  by,  281;  European  Tour 
of,  281;  Congress  in  London, 
283. 

Cosson,  Geo.,  Atty.  Gen.,  Des 
Moines,  255. 

Crafts,  Rev.  W.  F.,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  177. 

Crispi,  Sig.,  Italy,  Laws  and,  19. 

“Current  Opinion,’’  195. 

Davis,  Katherine,  Supt.  Bedford 
Hills  Reformatory,  N.  T.,  228; 
quoted  by  Judge  Olson,  357. 

De  Graaf,  Dr.,  Madrid,  75,  76. 

De  Lolme,  Law  authority  (Brit- 
ish), 144. 

Dennis,  Dr.  J.  B.,  Authority  on 
China,  37. 

Despres,  Dr.  Armand,  Hospital 
Surg.  Lourcine,  Treatment  of 
Venerealism  on,  118. 

Diday,  Dr.,  Lyons,  France,  117, 
120. 

Dock,  Lavinia,  Physician,  142,  156. 

Dodge,  Grace,  Philanthropist, 
Pres.  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  220. 

Drake,  Marian,  Chicago,  275. 

Drummond,  Prof.  H.,  “Ascent  of 
Man,”  230. 

Drysdale,  Chas.,  Physician,  Met. 
Free  Hospital,  London,  120. 

"Ecce  Homo,”  Prof.  Seeley,  Eng., 
344. 

Eliot,  Dr.  Chas.  W.,  Pres.  Emeri- 
tus, Harvard  Uni.,  Change  of 
Sentiment  on,  240;  Address  at 
Buffalo,  265;  Causes  of  Sex 
Vice  on,  339. 

Eliot,  W.  E.,  M.  D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
opposed  license,  42,  43,  44. 

Emerson,  Zelie  P.,  218. 

Ency.  Britannica,  49. 

Evans,  Dr.  W.  A.,  Chicago,  Segre- 
gation on,  384. 

Exner,  Dr.  M.  J.,  Sec.  Student 
Dept.  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  246-7. 

Farr,  Dr.,  Statistician,  England, 
Money  Value  of  Life  on,  206. 

Farrar,  F.  W.,  Author  of  ‘‘Life  of 
Christ,”  21. 


Farwell,  A.  B.,  Chicago,  257. 

Finch,  Stanley  W.,  White  Slave 
Commissioner,  255. 

Fisher,  Irving,  Prof.  Yale  Uni., 
206. 

Flexner,  A.,  New  York,  32,  229, 
369. 

Forel,  M.,  France,  Prostitution 
and  Alcohol  on,  71. 

Fournier,  D.  A.,  Paris,  Authority 
on  Venerealism,  119,  132,  170. 

Gemmill,  Judge,  Chicago,  White 
Slavery  on,  68. 

Genesis,  Book  of,  8. 

Gibbons,  Cardinal,  264,  265. 

Gibson,  Rev.  Otis,  Authority  on 
China,  39. 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  Duty  of  Gov’ts, 
190,  271;  Calamities  of  War,  199. 

Grannis,  Elizabeth,  Purity  Work- 
er, New  York,  263. 

Gross,  Dr.,  Advocate  of  License 
for  U.  S.,  41,  307. 

Gustafson,  Axel,  Author  of 
"Foundation  of  Death,”  286. 

Hall,  Lucy  A.,  Deaconness,  Chi- 
cago, 249. 

Hall,  Dr.  G.  Stanley,  Author  of 
"Adolescence,”  337. 

Hail,  Dr.  Winfield  Scott,  Chicago, 
244. 

Hallam,  Wirt  W.,  Sec.  Illinois 
Vigilance  Ass’n,  254. 

Hammond,  John,  Des  Moines,  la., 
255. 

Hart  Hastings.  Russel  Sage 
Foundation,  356. 

Hawthorne,  N.,  Author  of  “Scar- 
let Letter,”  336. 

Holt,  Dr.  W.  L.,  New  Y'ork,  164. 

Hood,  Thos.,  Poet,  "Bridge  of 
Sighs,”  quoted,  79. 

Huet,  Dr.,  Physician,  Hospital, 
Amsterdam,  121. 

Hugo,  Victor,  “Les  Miserables." 
quoted,  49. 

Hutchinson,  Jonathan.  Surg.,  Eng., 
135. 

Immigration,  U.  S.  Reports,  61; 
Act  to  Regulate,  399. 

"Industrial  Banner,”  216. 

James,  W.  Prof,  and  Author,  351. 

Inferior  Courts  Act  N.  Y.,  45. 

Janney,  Dr.  O.  E.,  Baltimore,  239. 
252. 

Jeannel,  Dr.,  Authority  on  Ven- 
erealism, 120. 

Jesus  Christ,  Woman  and,  148, 
342;  Light  and,  322:  Honored 
Wedding,  333. 


Jewish  Encyclopedia,  Semitic  Re- 
ligions on,  16. 

Jones,  Ed.,  British  Workman 
Leader,  103. 

Jones,  Jenkin  Lloyd,  Chicago,  248. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  Pres.  Emeri. 
Leland  Uni.,  206,  264,  265. 

Julllen,  Dr.,  Physician,  St.  Lazare, 
Paris,  132. 

Junius,  quoted,  141. 

Kansas  City,  Vice  Report  of. 
Causes  of  Vice,  72. 

Kean,  Lieut.  Col.,  Armv  Author- 
ity, United  States,  181,  191. 

Kelly,  Dr.  Howard,  Baltimore, 
166,  167. 

Kendall,  Rev.  Sidney  C.,  Los  An- 
geles, 57,  58,  249. 

King,  Churchill,  Woman’s  Rights 
and  the  Church,  353. 

Kneeland,  Geo.,  Chief  Investiga- 
tor, Chicago  and  other  Vice 
Commissions,  77,  289. 

Lamertine,  H.  M.,  Brussels,  pub- 
lisher, 131. 

Lanaers,  M.,  Police  Chief,  Brus- 
sels, 54. 

Lancet,  The,  Medical  Journal. 
England,  139. 

Lane,  Dr.  E.,  Surg.  London  Lock 
Hospital,  137. 

Langstein,  Prof.,  Alcohol  and 
Prostitution  on,  71. 

Laveleye,  Emile  de.  Prof.  Liege 
Uni.,  55. 

“Laws  on  Prostitution,”  by  Prof. 
S.  Amos,  14,  26,  27,  32,  44. 

Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  Historian,  Eng- 
land, 13,  20,  56,  347. 

Lecour,  M.,  Police  Chief,  Paris, 
118,  120;  Mrs.  Butler’s  descrip- 
tion of,  277. 

Lies,  Eugene  T.,  Sec.  Minneap- 
olis Vice  Com.,  264. 

Light,  The,  Purity  Journal,  La 
Crosse,  Wis.,  267. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  140. 

Livermore,  Mary  A.,  100. 

Logan,  Author  of  “Great  Social 
Evil,”  Glasgow,  51,  72. 

London,  Jack,  “When  Women 
Vote,”  on,  272. 

London  Medical  Times,  118. 

London  Times,  White  Slavery,  on 
50. 

London  Quarterly,  The,  276. 

Lycurgus,  18. 

Lydston,  Dr.  G.  F.,  Chicago,  230. 

Macaulay,  Lord,  Author  and 
Statesman,  England,  28,  199. 


Jiack,  Julian,  Judge  Cook  Co. 
Juvenile  Court,  253;  Immorality 
of  Children  by,  327. 

Magdalenism,  by  Tait,  Scotland, 
71. 

Jilagna  Charta,  quoted,  13. 

Mahon,  Dr.  W.,  Manhattan  State 
Hospital,  168. 

Mann,  James,  Congressman  U.  S., 
254. 

Manning,  Cardinal,  Letter  of,  98. 

Massachusetts  State,  Vice  Re- 
port, 68,  70,  77. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  English  Phil- 
anthropist, 94,  379. 

Mauriac,  Dr.,  Paris  Authority, 
146. 

McClure’s  Magazine,  203,  266. 

Medical  Enquirer,  Eng.,  125. 

Metropolitan  Magazine,  77. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  Note  of,  83. 

Miner,  Maude,  Probation  Officer, 
New  York,  357, 

Minneapolis  Vice  Commission. 
Report,  156,  189. 

Mireur,  Dr.,  Exam.  Surg.,  Mar- 
seilles, 34,  53,  117,  133,  234. 

Mohr,  E.  K.,  Supt.  Purity  Dept., 
S.  A.,  266. 

Morrow,  Prince  A.,  Physician,  N. 
Y.,  71,  74,  160,  163,  171,  189,  210, 
250. 

Moses,  Jewish  Degeneracy  and, 
16. 

National  Vitality,  Its  Wastes  and 
Conservation,  Senate  Document 
No.  419  Wash.,  211. 

Navy  Reports,  Annual,  1905-1912, 
180,  181,  183. 

New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient 
Evil,  Jane  Addams,  284. 

New  York  Grand  Jury  Report,  66. 

Newman,  F.  W.,  Prof,  and  Phil- 
osopher Eng.,  S3,  99. 

Nightingale,  Florence,  Philan- 
thropist, 379. 

Olson,  Harry,  Judge  Municipal 
Court,  Chicago,  315,  355-368. 

Outlook,  The,  216. 

Owens,  Senator,  Senate  Docu- 
ment, Wash.,  209. 

Parent-Duchatelet,  French  Au- 
thority, 24,  33,  72;  quoted  by 
Flexner,  369,  371. 

Paris  Conference  Report,  51. 

Parkin,  Harry  A.,  Ass’t  Dist.  Att., 
Chicago. 

Parliamentary  Hist.,  27. 

Paul,  The  Apostle,  7;  334. 


Percival,  Dr.  L.  P.,  Sup’t  Dun- 
ning hospital,  168. 

Philanthropist  The,  Purity  Jour- 
nal, 243. 

Philadelphia  Vice  Com.  Report, 
47. 

Pollack,  Dr.,  Physician,  Balti- 
more, 166. 

Pontoppidan,  Dr..  Danish  Special- 
ist, 137. 

Pope’s  Essay  of  Man,  333. 

Portland  Vice  Com.  Report,  272. 

Potter,  Bishop,  New  York,  153. 

Powell,  Aaron  M.,  New  York,  43, 
55,  235,  239,  243,  380. 

Prostitution  in  Europe,  Flexner, 
231,  369. 

Purity  Journal,  J.  B.  Caldwell, 
267. 

Rauschenbusch,  W.,  Prof.  Roch- 
ester, N.  Y.,  Why  nations  fail 
on,  12,  302;  family  life  supreme 
question  of  social  order,  318. 

Record-Herald,  Chicago,  220. 

Reynolds,  James  B.,  Counsel  Am. 
Social  Hygiene  Assn.,  New 
York,  58,  243. 

Rixey,  Surg.-Gen.  Am.  Navy,  181. 

Roe,  Clifford  G.,  Chicago,  59,  61, 
248-52. 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  Jr.,  New 
York,  66,  369. 

Roosevelt,  Theo.,  Col.,  Wilful 
sterility  on,  196,  274;  child  la- 
bor on,  216;  signed  treaty,  242. 

Ross,  British  Army  Surg.,  29. 

Royal  Commission  Blue  Book, 
Eng.,  88;  vice  in  men  not  evii 
as  in  women,  92. 

Ruskin,  John,  Author,  Eng., 
Youth  and,  349;  traces  all  good 
to  purity,  350. 

Sanger,  Dr.  W.  W.,  Author,  Hist, 
of  Pros.,  15,  16,  23,  71,  80;  Re- 
cent Appendix  criticised,  383. 

Scott,  Benj.,  Chamberlain  of  Lon- 
don, 24,  108,  118,  123. 

Seippel,  Clara  P.,  Physician  Cook 
Co.  hospital,  children  slain  by 
venerealism  on,  165. 

Seligman,  Dr.  E.  R.  A.,  Author 
of  “The  Social  Evil,”  50,  244. 

Shaftesbury,  Lord,  115. 

Shakspeare,  W.,  14,  15,  155,  303, 
322,  348,  351. 

Shield,  The  Organ  of  Ladies’  Na- 
tional Ass’n,  Eng.,  138. 

Shutter,  Rev.  D.  Marion,  Chair- 
man, Minneapolis  Vice  Com. 
264. 


Sims,  Edwin  W.,  Chicago,  59,  60, 


Sims,  Dr.  Marlon,  Regulations 
for  U.  S.  on,  41. 

Solomon,  Single  standard  and,  17. 
Spencer,  Anna  Garlln,  Author, 
Mrs.  Butler  on,  102. 

Spencer,  David  S.,  Authority  on 
Japan,  37. 


Spencer,  Herbert,  Scientist,  Dis- 
eases acts  on,  84. 

Standard  Dictionary,  8. 


Stansfeld,  Sir  Jas..  M.  P 
21,  55,  115,  116,  233,  276.  ’ 


Eng., 


Stead,  W.  D.,  Journalist,  Eng., 
Maiden  Tribute  his,  112;  Na- 
tional sensation  by,  113;  ‘‘If 
Christ  Came  to  Chicago,”  288. 
Steadwell,  B.  S.,  Pres.  Purity 
Federation,  La  Crosse.  Wis . 

ri  CO  * 


Steffen,  Lincoln,  Journalist,  203. 

St.  Louis,  Committee  of,  100,  43. 

Stimson,  Sec.  of  War,  Washing- 
ton, 195. 

Stoos,  Prof.,  Switzerland,  75. 

Stow,  Author  of  "Survey  of  Lon- 
don,” 27. 

Stuart,  James,  M.  P.,  Eng.,  141. 

Suetonius,  as  a witness,  22. 

Sumner,  Walter  T.,  Bishop,  late 
Dean  of  Chicago,  201,  264. 

Tacitus,  Ancient  prostitution  on, 
22;  Chastity  of  ancient  Ger- 
mans, 319. 

Tait,  Dr.,  Edinburgh,  Author 
“Magdalenism,”  71. 

Taylor,  Bayard,  on  China,  38. 

Taylor,  Chas.  Bell,  Surg.  Midland 
Eye  Infirmary,  Eng.,  a vigor- 
ous opponent  of  C.  D.  Acts 


Taylor,  Graham,  Prof.,  Econo- 
mist, etc.,  Chicago,  309. 

Thierry,  Dr.,  Brussels,  prevalence 
of  syphilis,  121. 

Thorem,  French  Author,  230. 

Torney,  Surg-Gen.,  U.  S.  Armv, 
184,  194. 

Tresscote,  Louise,  quoted,  146. 

Van  Dyke,  Hy.,  Prof.  Princeton 
Uni.,  “The  Spirit  of  America” 
quoted,  219. 

Venereal  Problem  of  Armv  and 
Navy,  Lieut.-Col.  Kean,  189. 

Vigilance,  Organ  of  A.  V.  A.,  69: 
Dr.  Eliot's  address  in,  265. 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russel,  Scientist, 
301,  315. 

Washington.  Booker  T.,  353. 


Wa\ig:h,  Benj.,  Sec.  London  Soc., 
Stead’s  revolutionary  move- 
ment in  London,  told  by,  113. 

Wiley,  Dr.  Harvey,  Chief,  Chem- 
istry Bureau,  Wash.,  Value  of 
health  and  life  on,  206. 

Willard,  Frances,  Pioneer  in  pur- 
ity movement,  240. 

Wilson,  Henrv  J.,  M.  P.,  Eng.,  98. 


Wilson,  Dr.  H.  M.,  Daughter  of 
H.  J.  Wilson,  ardent  worker 
for  moral  uplift,  28. 

Willcox,  Prof.,  Statistical  author- 
ity, U.  S.,  207. 

Year-book  of  Nat’l  Soc.  for  Study 
of  Scientific  Education,  203, 
206,  322. 

Zabel,  W.  C..  Dist.  Atty.,  Mil- 
waukee, 297. 


Topical  Index 


A Decade  of  Awakening,  240. 

A New  Weapon,  247. 

A Voice  and  a Vision,  275. 

Address,  U.  S.  to  European  Con- 
gress, 242;  British  Physicians 
to  Americans,  105,  380,  387. 

Adultery,  Woman  taken,  148,  344. 

Age  of  Consent,  W.  T.  Stead  on, 
113;  Lord  Shaftesbury  and, 
115,  142,  311;  Chart  of  Amer- 
ican laws  on,  392. 

Alcohol,  vice  and,  71,  293;  Vene- 
rialism,  176,  182. 

American,  nation  went  to  war, 
10;  education,  10;  license  and 
liberty  in,  11;  Medical  Ass’n 
advocate  license,  41,  46;  Awak- 
ening the,  235;  Federation  for 
Sex  Hygiene  the,  265;  Vigi- 
lance Ass’n,  265. 

Amsterdam,  regulations  at,  121. 

.Ancient  Nations,  prostitution 
and,  17. 

Army,  American,  statistics  of  re- 
liable, 169;  venereal  peril  of, 
173;  alarming  increase  of  dis- 
ease, 174-6;  loss  of  men  by  ve- 
nerealism,  182  ; stoppage  of 
pay  as  a remedy,  186;  chastity 
recommended,  187;  Secretary  of 
War  on  increase  of  venereal- 
ism,  187;  prostitution  principal 
cause  of  disease,  189;  marriage 
of  soldiers  considered,  191; 
men  who  enlist  are  good  aver- 
age citizens,  194. 

Art,  Sensualism  and,  20. 

Athens,  prostitutes,  classes  in. 
18. 

Auction,  Women  for  sale  as  at, 
64. 

Augustus  and  Nero,  Vices  of,  20. 

Babes  of  five  working  in  canner- 
ies in  U.  S.,  217. 

Babies’  eyes  and  venereal  dis- 
ease, 163,  209. 

Babylon,  prostitution  in,  17. 


Bad  pre-eminence  of  France,  24. 

Bedford  Hill  Farm,  girls  in,  228. 

Belgium,  ideal  regulations  at,  34. 

Beneficence,  resolutions  on,  237. 

Berlin,  regulations  at,  31,  156. 

Bible  schools,  purity  teaching 
needed  at,  334. 

Big  vice  business  in  Chicago,  78, 

201. 

Black  plague,  the  great,  159. 

Blackmailers,  vice  and,  164. 

Blindness,  venereal  diseases  and, 
161;  children  and,  163;  in  Ger- 
many, 172;  caused  by  gonor- 
rhoea, 209,  211. 

Boys,  messengers  to  brothels, 
292. 

Brewers,  brothels  and,  294. 

British  Lion  aroused,  110. 

British,  regulations  at  colonies. 
Royal  Commission,  action  in 
India  — Women  furnished  to 
soldiers,  29;  Continental  and 
general  federation,  55;  Royal 
Commission  reported — Vice  in 
men  not  same  as  in  women, 
92. 

Brussels,  system  attacked  at,  34; 
police  chief  on  women’s  sub- 
jection, 54;  conferences  at — 
Resolutions  adopted,  130,  135. 

Brothels,  white  slave  traffic  sus- 
tained by,  134-5;  principal  cen- 
ter of  venereal  disease,  189. 

Business  Men,  vice  dealers  and, 
296-7. 

Cadet  system,  the,  65,  66,  77. 

Can  the  Plague  be  Stated?  184. 

Canada,  No  C.  D.  Acts  there,  30. 

Carlyle,  Thos.,  Author,  Eng.,  353. 

Causes  of  Prostitution,  traffic  in 
women,  numerous  authorities 
quoted,  71-74;  alcohol,  71,  293; 
low  wages,  217-229;  unchastity 
of  men,  primary  cause  of,  319; 
Dr.  Chas.  Eliot  on,  339;  Flex- 
ner  on,  374. 


Chaldea,  prostitution  at,  17. 

Charlemagne,  edicts  of,  386. 

Chastity,  Semitic  relig’ons  and, 
16;  Urged  upon  soldiers  and 
sailors,  187;  Thoreau  on,  230; 
Physicians’  declaration  on,  250  ; 
Women  and,  319;  Religion  and, 
333;  Shakspeare  on,  351;  Dr. 
Cabot  on,  352;  ancient  Germans 
and,  319-21. 

Chicago,  license  sought,  44; 
Number  of  cases  of  syphilis  in, 
169;  Big  Vice  business  in,  78; 
201;  Vice  Commission,  259; 
Conference  at,  252;  Business 
men  petition  mayor  for  vice 
district,  296;  Law  and  Order- 
League,  250. 

Children,  Venereal  diseases,  161; 
slain  by  venerealism,  165;  Dr. 
Seippel  gives  alarming  facts 
of,  165;  Dr.  Kelly  and  Dr.  Pol- 
lack on,  166;  effects  of  parents' 
diseases  and,  210;  blindness  of, 
163,  172,  209;  Babes  employed 
in  U.  S.  factories,  217;  work- 
ing hours  and  wages  of,  219; 
physical  and  moral  degeneracy 
of,  323;  Judge  Mack  reveals 
sad  conditions,  327. 

China,  British  military  in,  30; 
No  license  in — women  sold,  38; 
San  Francisco  report  on,  39; 
Bayard  Taylor,  38. 

Christ,  women  and,  148  342; 

light  and,  322;  Ethical  teach- 
ings of,  345. 

Christianity,  Social  Conscience 
and,  279;  supreme  need  of,  337. 

Church,  the,  purity  and,  335. 

Civilization,  greatest  task  of, 
301;  traffic  in  women  and,  296. 

Commissions  of  Vice  Inciuiry, 
Table  of,  260-262. 

Committee  of  Fifteen,  New  York, 
245. 

Committee  of  Fourteen,  New 
Y'ork,  77. 

Committee  of  Seven  (Medical), 
244. 

Committee  of  Fifteen,  Chicago, 
289. 

Commerce  and  Conscience,  28.5; 
Dr.  Lydston  on,  230;  shocking 
moral  obliquity  — instances  in 
Paris,  Chicago,  Milwaukee, 
288,  292. 

Commercialism  of  Vice,  8,  36,  62, 
285, 

CoNSTRUCTn’E  POLICY,  Judge  Olson 
on,  355-368;  Charts  to  illus- 
trate, 362,  363,  364. 


Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  prin- 
ciple of  in  New  York  law,  45: 
How  and  why  passed,  81-2; 
Character  of,  working  of,  86: 
No  redress  — Herbert  Spencer 
on,  87;  moral  effects  of,  89; 
Suicides  caused  by — Mrs.  Per- 
cy’s case,  90;  Women’s  petition 
against,  95;  Nat’l  Ass’n  orga- 
nized, 97 ; Cardinal  Manning 
on,  98;  Prof.  Newman  on,  99; 
John  Stuart  Mill  on,  88;  Par- 
liament aroused,  104 ; Cabinet 
Minister  enters  fight  against, 
105;  issue  at  elections,  110;  W. 
T.  Stead’s  avalanche  against 
them;  A national  sensation,  113  ; 
Lord  Shaftesbury’s  last  appeal, 
115;  The  Acts  are  repealed, 

Copenhagen,  regulation  in,  33. 

Constructive  Policy,  A,  Judge 
Olson,  355. 

Continuance  of  Species,  Lecky  on, 
347. 

Convictions  against  white  slav- 
ers, 69,  70,  253. 

Cost  of  Social  Evil,  201,  211,  212: 
Debit  and  Credit  of  the  Evil. 
213. 

Crib  System,  Kendall  on,  57;  San 
Francisco  and,  154. 

Dance  halls,  312. 

Deaths  by  venereal  diseases,  not 
reported,  162;  increase  of 
among  registered  women,  126 ; 
table  of  in  England,  129. 

Decade  of  interest  in  subject, 
244-249. 

Declaration  of  physicians  on 
chastity,  250,  251. 

Delegates,  first  European  Con- 
gress at,  231. 

Denmark,  regulation  system  of. 
33. 

Disorderly  houses,  ward  syndi- 
cates and,  203. 

Divorce,  marriage  and,  309. 

Driven  to  death,  Mrs.  Percy’s 
case,  90. 

Druggists,  vice  vendors  and,  287. 

Economic  Question,  The,  199: 
Social  Evil  and,  200;  Cost  of 
prostitution  — money  averaged 
at  brothels — leeches  that  fat- 
ten, 201-4;  Values  of  service, 
cost  of  disease:  Value  of 
health,  life,  and  soul,  205-10; 
Table  of  comparative  expendi- 
tures, 211;  Summary  of  losses, 
212;  Marriage  versus  brothel. 
213;  Low  wages  — army  of 
breadwinners,  Jane  Addams  on, 
Roosevelt  on,  Kansas  City  re- 
port on,  wages  in  various 
girls’  work.  214-225. 


Education,  135;  Why  needed,  322- 
342;  Who,  when,  how,  to  teach, 
324;  Need  of  it.  Judge  Mack  on, 
327-9;  grades  of  and  subnor- 
mal conditions  in  public 
schools,  365. 

Egypt,  sensual  hotbed.  A,  16,  17. 

England,  Early  sanction  of  vice 
in,  26;  Stews  of,  in  London,  27; 
No  laws  on  until  Charles  First, 
27;  Puritans’  severe  act,  27; 
White  slaves  imported  to,  50; 
Contagious  Diseases  Acts 
passed,  82 ; Extortion  case  re- 
ported by  London  Times,  157. 

Failure  of  regulation  system  in 
Paris,  133;  England.  119,  380. 

Farrar,  Archdeacon,  on  Rome's 
corruption,  21. 

Fathers,  education  and,  331. 

First  International  Congress  on 
regulation  system,  231. 

Foreword,  7. 

France,  reaps  harvest  of  vice — 
its  Kings  and  their  immorali- 
ties, laws  of,  bad  pre-eminence 
of,  23-4;  Rules  of  brothels,  24; 
Buonaparte  and  license  in,  25: 
Venereal  diseases  in,  119; 
Westminster  Review  on,  119. 

Germany,  blindness  and  gonor- 
rhoea in,  172;  Commission  of 
Women  asked  for,  138. 

Ghouls,  pimps  and,  303. 

Gonorrhoea,  prevalence  of,  161; 
child-blindness  and,  163;  wom- 
en’s diseases  and,  163;  enor- 
mous proportions  of,  167;  Esti- 
mate two  millions  in  U.  S., 
167;  proportion  suffering  from 
it — estimates  vary,  168;  Serious 
possibilities  of — kills  many, 
208;  Dr.  Morrow  on  its  effects 
on  efficiency,  209. 

Grand  Jury,  New  York  report  of, 

66. 

Great  Britain,  Venereal  Diseases 
in,  122;  Navy,  123;  Increased 
death  rate  in,  125. 

Grogshops  and  U.  S.  Army  and 
Navy,  186. 

Hamburg,  Edict  in  1506,  32. 

Health  as  an  economic  asset,  206. 

Hebrews  and  family  life  of,  340. 

Hebrew  Church,  The,  Conference 
of,  339. 

Herbert,  Lord,  on  army  condi- 
tions in  England,  81. 

History  of  Regulation,  13. 

Holland,  regulations  at,  36. 

Hong  Kong,  C.  D.  Acts  at,  30. 

Hotels,  disorderly,  Syracuse  Re- 
ports on  — hotel  registers  in 
evidence,  285. 


Hungary,  regulations  authorized. 

34. 

Hygiene,  police  rule  and,  117; 
morality  and,  142;  Resolutions 
on,  239  ; Societies  organized  to 
aid,  246;  Not  the  supreme  is- 
sue, 346. 

Hygiene  Utopia,  131. 

Illinois  Vigilance  Ass’n,  orga- 
nized. 252;  worked  for  injunc- 
tion bill,  256. 

Immigration,  Commission  Report 
on  white  slavery,  61;  undeni- 
able facts  — thousands  yearly 
sold — innocent  girls  captured — 
a typical  case,  62;  system  of 
exploiting — unspeakable  atroc- 
ities— girls  for  sale  described 
in  detail,  63;  law  to  regulate, 
399. 

Immorality  commended,  15;  not 
same  in  men  as  in  women. 
92-3. 

Indictment  of  white  slavery,  Sid- 
ney Kendall,  by,  57;  James  B. 
Reynolds,  by,  58. 

Inequality  of  regulative  laws. 
146;  a woman  of  the  demi- 
monde on.  Dr.  Mauriac  on,  147. 

Inferior  Courts  Act,  New  York, 
prostitution  licensed  by,  45. 

Injunction  and  abatement  law — 
Iowa  first  to  pass  it,  255: 

twelve  states  adopt  it.  256; 

Congress  passes  it  for  D.  C., 
256;  Text  of  Act,  387. 

Injustice,  Contagious  Diseases 
Acts  of,  96;  Prof.  Stuart  on, 
141;  of  regulation  system,  143, 
156,  157. 

Insanity,  Enormous  rate  of 

through  venerealism,  168;  nine 
million  dollars  voted  in  Illi- 

nois in  one  year — numbers  in 
asylum:  Drs.  Mahon  and  Perci- 
val  on,  168. 

Insurance,  Syphilis  and,  208;  Ger- 
many in,  205. 

International  Congress,  delegates 
at  the  Geneva,  235. 

International  Federation,  278. 

International  Treaty,  242;  Edwin 
Sims  records  it,  242  ; Pres. 
Roosevelt  signed  it  — text  of, 
243;  James  B.  Reynolds  on, 
243. 

Italy,  Vice  in  ancient,  18. 

Italian  Art-schools,  immorality 
and — Lecky  on,  20:  Doctors 
speak  on,  132. 

Iowa  Law  — Injunction  Act,  255. 

Japan,  Commerce  in  girls  at,  36; 
segregation  at,  37 ; Japanese 
war  without  women  — Russ 
troops,  official  prostitutes,  197. 


Jesus,  Women  taken  in  adultery 
to,  148;  honored  marriage,  333; 
woman  and,  344, 

Jewish  Women,  guard  girls,  341. 

Justice,  need  of,  141;  Age  of  con- 
sent and,  143. 

Juvenile  depravity,  329,  330. 

Knowledge  of  sex  not  evil,  323; 
Lecky’s  contention  criticized, 
347. 

Leeches  and  Ghouls,  204,  303. 

Life  as  an  Economic  Asset,  206; 
Value  of,  208. 

Lille,  women  outraged  at,  157. 

Locomotor  ataxia,  syphilis  and, 
164;  Dr.  Kelly  on,  167. 

Ladies'  National  Association. 
England,  276. 

London,  Venerealism  in,  132;  im- 
proved moral  conditions  of— 
Flexner  on,  378. 

Losses  through  immorality,  214. 

Low  wages,  vice  and,  216;  Jane 
Addams  and,  217;  Roosevelt 
and,  218. 

Marriage,  low  rate  of  venereal 
disease  in  Philippine  army  at- 
tributed to,  191;  its  value  to 
American  soldiers,  193;  Army 
reports  on,  191-5;  cost  less  than 
vice,  213  ; is  foundation  of  soci- 
ety, 309;  suggested  restrictions 
need  caution,  dangers  of,  313; 
Wallace  protests  against  re- 
pression of,  316;  Dr.  Cabot  on, 
394. 

Marriage  and  Divorce  are  twin 
subjects,  309. 

"Measure  for  Measure’’  quoted, 
15,  27,  155. 

Medical  Ass’n  to  oppose  license 
system,  105. 

Men,  vice  less  than  in  women, 
92;  can  avoid  venereal  dis- 
eases, 189;  demoralization  by, 
196. 

Mental  subnormals.  Judge  Olson 
on,  358,. 

Messenger  boys,  house  of  ill- 
fame,  employed  at,  292. 

Militarism,  tendency  of,  173. 

Milwaukee  merchants  petition 
for  red-light  district,  297. 

Minneapolis  Vice  Commission, 
156. 

Mothers,  best  primary  teachers, 
326. 

Moral  effects  of  license  system, 
89. 

Moral,  values  considered,  213; 
Issues,  265;  conscience  degrad- 
ed, 293-298. 


Morals,  resolutions  of  Congress. 
240;  soldiers  and  — a military 
critic  on,  194;  committee  of  in 
Chicago,  265. 


Nation,  backward  swing  of,  44; 
favored  regulation.  146;  rela- 
tion of  health  and  life  to,  209. 

National  decay,  160;  Macaulay 
on,  28,  201;  Rauschenbusch  on, 
302;  vitality  of,  206-209;  waste 
of,  210-213. 

Navy,  venerealism  in,  179;  table 
of,  180. 


Negro  slavery,  white  slavery 
worse  than,  8. 

New  York,  licensed  vice  in,  45; 
$200,000,000  plunder  in,  151 ; 
How  it  was  done,  152:  Bishop 
Potter’s  protest,  153;  Com.  of 
15,  245. 


New  York,  Gonorrhoea,  reported 
cases,  161;  comparison  of  ven- 
ereal with  other  diseases,  162; 
men  affected  with  gonorrhoea. 
169. 


Norway,  regulations  at.  36. 

Ophthalmia,  New  York  cases, 
161;  Gonorrhoea  a principal 
cause  of,  163. 

Ostrich-like  policy,  191. 

Pander’s,  Cliff.  G.  Roe  on,  253. 

Pandering,  law  of  Illinois,  Mas- 
sachusetts, 257;  Text  of,  371. 

Percy,  Mrs.,  Suicide  of,  90;  Lon- 
don Telegraph  on  — daughter 
of,  91. 

Paresis,  causes  of,  168. 

Paris,  regulation  and,  117;  health 
dispensary,  118;  failure  of  reg- 
ulation, 133;  syphilis  in,  203. 


Pimps,  panders  and,  77,  293; 

Ghouls  and,  303. 


Pharisees,  woman  and,  343. 


Philadelphia,  Vice  Commission, 
204,  266;  against  segregation. 
202, 


Philippines  — prostitution 
in  — Roosevelt  on,  177;  small 
rates  of  venerealism  among 
native  soldiers — marriages  the 
cause,  191. 

Physicians  advocate  license,  41: 
organize  Ass’n  against  C.  D. 
Acts,  105:  start  new  journal. 
106;  failure  of  regulation  and. 
119-121;  declaration  of,  recom- 
mending chastity,  246-7;  dis- 
pense opiates  to  houses  of  ill- 
fame,  287. 

Plunder  and  Graft.  Tammany’s 
forty  thieves  and,  161 ; San 
Francisco  and,  154;  Bishop 
Potter's  protest.  153. 


Police  graft  and — prices  paid, 
153,  166. 

Prevention,  better  than  rescue, 
308. 

Price,  women’s  purchase  of,  48; 
slave  market — women  for,  78; 
how  rated,  personal  charms 
cataloged,  64,  79. 

Property  owners,  prostitution 
and,  287-8-9;  Chicago  Vice 
Com.  testimony,  290. 

Prophylaxis  of  venereal  diseases, 
committee  on,  160. 

Prostitutes,  Lecky  on,  13;  Brit- 
ish gov’t  supplied  them  to  sol- 
diers, 29;  sickness  of  a crime, 
46;  not  free  but  slaves,  Victor 
Hugo  on,  49;  delegates  to 
church  congress  furnished  with 
them,  32;  carloads  sent  to 
Liege,  54;  their  price  and  mar- 
ket value,  78;  practically  all 
diseased,  167;  unskilled  work- 
ers and,  373. 

Prostitution,  history  of,  15 ; Soc- 
rates and,  18;  necessity  of,  28; 
alcohol  and,  70,  71,  72;  causes 
and  extent  of,  71;  cost  of,  70, 
211,  375  ; can  be  suppressed, 

304, 

Prostitution  in  Europe,  Flexner 
on,  369-377. 

Psychology,  Judge  Olson  and, 
356;  tests  by  in  public  schools, 
366. 

Public  opinion,  change  of,  Dr. 
Eliot  on,  244;  seen  in  press  and 
plays,  245. 

Pulpit,  sex  puritv  and  the,  334. 

Puritans,  severity  of,  27. 

Queen’s  women,  prostitutes  as. 
92. 

Queensland,  C.  D.  Acts,  30. 

Rabbis,  conference  of,  339. 

Race  culture,  urged,  267. 

Raines  law,  bad  effects  of,  245. 

Rape,  age  of  consent  and,  142; 
decrease  of  under  injunction 
law,  255;  Shakspeare  on,  348. 

Real  estate  agents  — rent  prop- 
erty for  vice  trade,  290. 

Registration,  women  of,  22,  81, 

86. 

Regulation,  history  of,  13-48. 

Red-light,  districts  petitioned  for 
by  business  men  in  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee,  296-7;  policy 
of  unthinkable,  368. 

Religion,  chastity  and,  333. 

Remedies,  191,  316-362. 

Repeal  of  C.  D.  acts  in  Eng.,  115. 

Rescue,  prevention  and,  307. 


Riots  in  England,  107. 

Rockefeller  jury,  report  of,  66. 

Rome,  Sensualism  in,  20;  Farrar 
on,  21;  Fall  of  Empire,  21; 
Captive  women  in,  22. 

Russia,  old  system  in,  35;  Con- 
gress at  condemned  regulation, 
138. 

Saloons,  prostitution  and,  293, 
294;  dance  halls  and,  312;  part- 
nership in,  294. 

San  Francisco,  graft  scandal  at, 
154. 

Seattle,  pimps  living  on  girls,  65; 
mayor  recalled  on  vice  issue, 
258. 

Seduction,  men  and,  fall  of  girls 
by,  73. 

Segregation,  Rome  and,  21;  Ja- 
pan, 37;  quarantine  and,  189; 
opposed  by  vice  commissions, 
268;  Why?  Where?  Who?  269  ; 
Judge  Olson  on,  368;  Dr.  W.  A. 
Evans  on,  385;  impossible  to 
make  a case  for,  377. 

Segregation,  Vice  Commissions 
all  reject  it,  47. 

Semitic  religions,  vice  and,  16. 

Senate  documents  on  white  slav- 
ery, 63. 

Servants,  wages  of,  against  the- 
ory of  poverty  as  chief  cause 
of  vice,  229. 

Sex,  power  and  importance  of, 
337,  349. 

Sex-Education,  Gov.  Dunne  blocks 
it  in  State  Univ.,  332.  See 
Education. 

Sex  hygiene,  American  federa- 
tion for,  246-265;  advocated, 
267;  importance  of,  322;  how 
and  when  to  teach  it,  324;  not 
the  supreme  issue,  346;  Judge 
Olson  on,  365. 

Slavery,  worse  than,  203. 

Slaves,  negro,  not  prostitutes,  8. 

Slave-trade,  Mrs.  Butler  on,  54; 
California  Cribs  and,  57. 

Spain,  Roman  system  in,  26. 

Social  Evil,  definition,  7;  Macau- 
lay on,  7;  Hugo  on,  49;  Selig- 
man  on,  50. 

Soldiers,  alcohol  and,  176;  vener- 
eal diseases  and,  122,  127,  174. 
178;  wearing  uniform  in  grog- 
shops forbidden,  185;  loss  of 
service  by  disease,  182,  188; 

remedies  for  diseases,  190  ; 
marriage  of,  191;  a military 
critic  and,  194. 

Sources,  prostitution  of,  62;  223, 
293,  373;  Morrow  on — Kansas 
City  report — Chicago  Vice  Com., 
71-74.  Venereal  diseases  of, 
170,  171. 


Souls  of  women,  192;  worth  of, 
213. 

St.  Louis,  license  law  in,  32;  Com. 
of  100,  43. 

Sterility,  Roosevelt  on,  274. 

Stews  of  Vice,  Early  England, 
27;  church  property  used,  27. 

Sub-normal  children,  vice  and. 
358,  366. 

Suicides,  women,  90-91. 

Sunday-school  interest,  262. 

Sweden,  regulations  at,  35. 

Switzerland,  no  license  in,  35. 

Syracuse,  morals  com.,  275. 

Syria,  vice  in,  17. 

Syphilis,  how  contracted.  119; 
false  security  offered,  120;  rate 
of  in  British  army,  122;  num- 
bers afflicted  with,  161,  169;  in- 
sanity caused  by,  168;  how  to 
avoid,  189. 

Tammany,  police  toll  on  social 
evil,  151. 

Telegraph  service  and  vice  trade 
— young  boys  as  messengers, 
292. 

Telephone  companies  and  vice 
trade,  291. 

The  Man’s  Part,  Chicago  Vice 
Commission  on,  198. 

The  Supreme  Appeal.  346. 

Traffic,  white-slave  must  go,  74; 
Dr.  De  Graaf  on,  76. 

Treaty,  international  transporta- 
tion of  women,  247. 

Tuberculosis,  not  so  great  a 
scourge  as  venerealism,  162, 
163,  164,  167. 

Turkey,  stringent  laws  in,  vice 
in,  36. 

Unchastity  of  men  and  prostitu- 
tion, 319. 

Unequal  moral  standard,  336. 

Uniform,  Army  and  Navy,  U.  S. 
forbids  it  in  grog-shops,  18,5. 

United  States,  license  substituted 
for  liberty,  10;  license  advocat- 
ed for,  39;  medical  ass’n  favors 
license,  41 ; nation  swings 
backward,  44;  rich  market  for 
white  slave  trade,  56;  loss  of 
life  by  venereal  diseases,  209; 
international  treaty,  247. 

Unity  of  human  interests,  Lin- 
coln on,  140. 

Venereal  Diseases,  Paris,  118; 
British  Navy,  123;  Increased 
death  rate,  125;  improvement 
after  repeal  of  C.  D.  acts  in 
England,  127;  testimony  of  ex- 
perts, 130;  London  and  New 
York  compared  with  Paris,  132: 


Jonathan  Hutchinson  on  treat- 
ment of,  135;  Brussels  confer- 
ences on,  133-6;  children  slain 
by,  165;  sources  of,  170;  alco- 
hol and,  176,  182;  outweighs 
all  other  sanitary  questions  in 
army  and  navy,  185;  remedies 
applied,  186;  more  to  be  feared 
than  war,  184;  economic  losses 
by,  202-4. 

Venereal  Peril  in  America,  In- 
ventory of — appalling,  159  ; 

New  York  statistics  on.  161: 
army  and  navy,  183:  can  the 
plague  be  stayed?  185;  chastity 
for  soldiers  urged,  188. 

Vice,  wages  of,  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  honest  earnings. 
226;  no  continuous  prizes  in. 
228;  Jane  Addams  on.  229. 

Vice  Commission  Reports.  259; 
List  of,  260-2. 

Votes,  women’s  in  Illinois,  272. 

Vigilance  Ass’n,  111.,  252,  256. 

Vigilance  Ass’n,  National,  265. 

Voice,  A,  and  a Vision,  257-281. 

Wages,  women’s,  low,  a menace. 
214;  Jane  Addams  on,  215,  219; 
Roosevelt  on.  217;  Kansas  City 
report  and,  218;  an  experiment 
by  a lady,  218;  Grace  Dodge 
and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  on,  220;  effi- 
ciency and,  222;  Bedford  Hills 
farm  and,  230. 

War-cry,  a startling,  97. 

War  and  its  weapons,  the,  301. 

Waste  of  life  and  resources.  209- 
210. 

Wealth,  social  evil  and,  200. 

Weighed  in  the  balances,  117. 

White  slaves,  loaded  as  cattle, 
54;  described  as  cattle  for  sale, 
64;  men  live  on  earnings  of,  65. 

White  slavery,  not  American — 
Victor  Hugo  on,  49;  Seligman — 
London  Times  on,  50;  Cribs  for. 
57  ; Immigration  Commission 
on,  61;  thrilling  stories  of,  62-4. 

White  slave  traffic.  European  up- 
rising against,  55:  war  on,  59: 
newspaper  records  on,  69;  Mas- 
sachusetts vice  report  on,  68; 
reality  of.  77;  brothels — the 
stronghold  of.  135;  Suppression 
of,  249. 

White  slave  traffic  act.  How  pro- 
moted and  passed,  254;  Text 
of.  394. 

Woman  of  underworld  writes  on 
evils,  145. 

Woman  suffrage,  Illinois  aids 
morals,  275. 

Womanhood,  traffic  in,  296. 


Women,  petition  against  license. 
96-6;  moral  effects  of  evils  on, 
89;  innocent  accused,  144; 
wives  and  others  accused  by 
police,  145;  affected  with  ven- 
ereal, 161;  gonorrhoea,  horrors 
of,  163;  wages  of,  220;  multi- 
tudes working — Jane  Addams 
on,  221;  wages  of,  222-226;  ap- 
peals to,  237 ; standards  of 
purity.  Lord  Byron  on,  230; 
chastity  of,  319;  Jesus  and,  342, 
Women  of  redllght — what  be- 
comes of  them  when  houses 
closed,  47. 


Working  hours  for  girls,  219. 
Working  men,  Mrs.  Butler’s  ap- 
peal to,  102,  237. 

World’s  peace,  193. 

World’s  vision,  a,  279. 

Worship,  women  and,  342. 

Young  men,  gullability  of,  119; 
false  security  offered  them, 
120. 

Young  people,  teaching  them, 
333. 

Youth — Buskin  on,  349. 


Tables:  Statistical  and  Reference 


Newspaper  Records  of  White  Slavery 69 

Syphilis  in  France  119 

Venereal  patients  in  French  hospitals 121 

Syphilis  in  British  Army 122 

Syphilis  in  British  Navy 123 

Ratios  of  Venereal  in  British  Army,  before  and  after  C.  D. 

Acts  124 

Death  rate  of  registered  prostitutes 126 

British  Army  recruits — Venereal  diseases,  1884  to  1909 128 

British  Army:  Admissions  to  hospital,  1884  to  1909 129 

Venereal  diseases,  England,  general  population 129 

New  York,  Cases  of  gonorrhoea  reported  by  678  physicians..  161 

New  York,  Comparison  of  diseases  in  1901 162 

U.  S.  Army:  Ratios  of  admission,  venereal  and  other  diseases  175 

U.  S.  Army:  Noneffectiveness  through 175 

Alcoholism  and  venerealism  compared 176 

Diseases  in  U.  S.  Army  in  the  Philippines 178 

Venerealism  in  Armies,  compared 179 

Hospital  Admission — Venereal,  U.  S.  Navy 180 

Hospital  Admission — Ten  years’  reports 180 

Comparison,  U.  S.  with  other  armies 181 

Venereal  diseases  in  entire  U.  S.  Army 188 

Houses  of  prostitution  in  Philadelphia 202 

Expenditures,  social  diseases,  etc.,  U.  S 211 

Weekly  wages  of  women,  Kansas  City 218 

Wages  of  women  in  different  trades 224 

Average  women’s  wages  report 228 

Vice  Commissions  and  Investigations 260 

Percent  of  Mental  Defectives  357 

Laws  of  U.  S.  for  suppressing  prostitution 392 

JUDGE  OLSON’S  CHARTS 

1.  Subnormal  children  in  public  schools,  according  to  grade  362 

2.  Subnormal  children  in  public  schools,  according  to  age...  363 

3.  Percent  system  of  estimating  mental  ability 364 


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Farm,  Field  and  Fireside: 

“Evinces  vast  research  and  study.  No  other  work  has  covered 
this  ground;  and  no  library  should  fail  to  have  a copy.” 

Chicago  Tribune: 

"Mr.  Burgess  has  done  an  admirable  service  which  cannot  fail  to 
be  appreciated  by  students  of  English  life  and  English  literature 
generally.” 


Some  Sentences 
from  Numerous 
Press  Notices 


Uniform  with  The  Bible  in  Shakspeare.  450  pages 
$2.00  net.  Postage  20  cents. 

Published  by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company, NewYork,  London, Chicago 

The  Religion  of  Ruskin 


The  Advance  (Congrregatlonal) : 

“One  of  the  most  interesting 
and  instructive  books  published 
recently  is  ‘The  Religion  of 
Ruskin;  a Biographical  and 
Anthological  Study.’  ’’  The  Ad- 
vance follows  this  notice  by 
devoting  five  columns  of  a reg- 
ular issue  to  a reprint  of  ex- 
tracts from  Chapter  One  of  the 
Book  which  consists  of  “The 
Life  of  Ruskin.” 

Chicago  Tribune: 

“In  its  over  four  hundred  ample 
and  compactly  printed  pages 
there  is  first  presented  a life 
of  Ruskin,  followed  by  a very 
careful  analysis  and  annota- 
tion of  selections  taken  from  all 
his  works.  In  its  twenty-five 
pages  of  index  immense  indus- 
try has  been  shown,  adding 
greatly  to  the  value  of  the 
book.’’ 

Chicago  Record-Herald: 

“Mr.  Burgess  has  rendered  a 
real  service  especially  to  re- 
ligious teachers  of  every  sort, 
in  bringing  under  one  cover 
the  whole  mass  of  Ruskin’s  re- 
ligious utterances,  culled  from 
the  twenty-six  volumes  of  his 


collected  works,  and  here 
classified  for  easy  access.  And 
what  an  array  these  pages 
will  nrake!  Such  a book,  so 
admirably  arranged,  and  with- 
al so  reverently  responsive  to 
a pure  and  melodious  voice, 
will  do  good  in  many  ways, 
and  is  to  be  highly  recom- 
mended.” 

Chicago  Examiner: 

“A  most  comprehensive  com- 
pendium of  the  sentiments  of 
Ruskin.  The  compiler  seems 
justified  in  his  belief  that  the 
reader  will  find  by  following 
the  chronological  order  that 
Ruskin’s  mind  was  ever  rev- 
erent.” 

Evening  Post: 

"This  study,  which  is  at  once 
biographical  and  anthological, 
is  distinctly  worth  while,  con- 
taining as  it  does  a sketch  of 
a lofty  and  noble  life,  with 
selections  from  the  works  of 
Ruskin  showing  his  perception 
of  the  religious  element  in  art, 
in  nature,  in  life  and  poetry, 
and  his  plea  for  the  applica- 
tion of  the  religious  spirit  to 
political  economy.” 


An  Ideal  Gift  Book  for  Christmas,  Graduation,  Birthday  or 
Other  Occasions 

Bible  Side-Lights  from  Shakspeare 

72  pages,  5x8,  neatly  bound. 

This  beautiful  little  book  is  printed  in  large  type,  and 
illustrated  with  half-tones.  It  contains  twenty  brief  homilies 
from  texts  of  familiar  themes.  It  is  a rare  combination  of 
commentary  and  story,  reflecting  new  light  on  old  truths  and 
Bible  parables. 

Price  60  cents,  postpaid.  Tn  fancy  Boxes. 

For  a special  offer  on  all  three  books  advertised  in  these 
pages  address  the  author; 

REV.  WM.  BVRGESS,  Saul  Bros.,  Publishers,  Chicago. 


